Pokemon: Jacob's Story
by BanditPonyta
Summary: Ash and co. are on their journey when they come across a strange child. Now they must return him home, but have they gotten more than they bargained for? FINALLY FINISHED! THE 7 YEAR JOURNEY IS OVER! Read and Review! I love Reviews! I live off of them.
1. Pokemon: Jacob's Story

Note: I do not own Pokemon, or any of the music played in this story. Copyright is found at the end of the story.

Another Note: Pikachu is referred to as a him in this story not "IT." ENJOY!

A New Face

One day Ash, Misty and Tracey were walking on a path in the forest. They were on their way back to Pallet, after Ash was done battling for experience in a certain area where the toughest trainers were located. Togepy was riding in Misty's pack and Pikachu was on his usual spot on Ash's hat. A cloud was covering the sun and as usual they were totally lost.

"You think he would know his way back to his own hometown." Misty said. The day had started with Ash and Misty arguing and somewhere along the line they had stopped speaking to each other altogether.

"Hey, I don't want to get mixed up in this little 'lovers spat,' I think you two should work it out." Tracey said as he sketched in his notebook. He didn't see the mallet that Misty had pulled out of ...um...the same place Jessie keeps her mallet, and her other random painful items.

"OW!" Tracey complained from his place on the ground. Misty stepped over him and continued walking. Ash had stopped and looked back, but then turned and mumbled something under his breath like, "stupid girl."

"WHAT WAS THAT ASHY BOY?" Misty yelled. Ash was struggling to answer her with something that would keep him from being smacked him with her mallet, when he heard a sound.

"Hey, What was that?" Ash said.

"What was what?" Tracey asked.

"Thought I heard something...There it is again...Don't you hear it?"

They fell silent and listened to the wind. Misty suddenly spoke up, "Hey, I do hear something. It sounds like a cry, maybe it's a Pokemon in trouble." There was a pause.

"That's no Pokemon," Tracey said, "It sounds like a kid."

"How do you tell the difference?" Ash asked.

"I have been around Pokemon a long time, and I know what they sound like, Ash. That sound is defiantly a kid, a boy, between the ages of three to six." Ash and Misty looked at Tracey for a moment and a little sweat drop appeared on their heads. Misty broke the silence "Well, Pokemon or not, he sounds like he is in trouble."

"You're right Misty," Ash agreed. "We need to find him and help him."

"The crying sounds like it's coming from this way" Tracey said pointing off the trail.

"Lets go" Ash said. They broke out into a run and headed toward the noise. Pikachu ran ahead sniffing the ground.

"Pick anything up yet Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu turned around and said "Pika pi, Pikachu pi pika chu pi pikachu."

"Care to translate Ash?" Misty asked.

"He said he smells a person and an Eevee."

"Ok, Pikachu lead the way" Misty encouraged.

"PIKA!" pikachu responded. The trio followed the pikachu until they came upon a small clearing.

In the small clearing sat a young boy between the ages of three to six (who'd of thought?). The boy was wearing jean shorts and a red and black-striped shirt. On his head was an old red cap that he was wearing backwards. He was wearing a small, dark blue backpack on his back. By his side was a little Eevee. The boy was sobbing and the Eevee was trying to comfort him. "Eevee" it cooed softly. The trio came up closer trying to see what exactly was going on.

"Mommy...Daddy...Why did I have to leave you? Why do I have to be alone?" The small boy continued to sob. Our heroes looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. Ash looked at Misty and nodded his head. Misty slowly got up and approached the small boy. At first Misty moved silently across the field, but then she stepped on a small twig. The twig's snap caused the boy to stop sobbing instantly. The Eevee whipped around and let out a defensive cry. "EEVEE!" The boy turned around just as quickly.

"What do you want!" The boy demanded.

Now that Misty could see the small boy's face he looked almost familiar. On the child's tear streaked cheeks were those little zigzags that are found on Ash's face, his eyes were blurry now, but Misty could tell that at most times this boy's chocolate colored eyes would carry a spark of pure happiness. From what she could tell from the few strands of hair that were sticking out from underneath his worn out, red hat, and his hair was a very light brown color almost as light as the boy's skin, which was also a light brown.

_You are certainly a polite little thing aren't you?_ Misty thought to herself. What she said was, "Um... hi, my name is Misty, and I... er...we...uh...my friends and I were wondering if you were ok."

"Misty?" his face softened a bit when he said her name.

"Yes" she replied.

"I... I'm lost. I want to go home but... I can't find my way." The boy sniffled as tears started to form in his eyes.

"Eevee, eevee." The young Eevee added. Misty knelt on the ground so she could see in to the boy's eyes.

"What's your name sweetie?" Misty asked. The boy sniffled as he looked up and said "Jacob, but everyone calls me Jake."

"I like that name." Misty said smiling gently at the boy. "How old are you Jake?"

"I'm 4 and a half." Jake answered. "And this is my Eevee that my daddy gave to me."

"Eevee!" The pokemon cried, happy that they had found someone that might help them.

"So, Jake where are your mommy and daddy?"

"Home," he replied.

"Yes, but where's home Jacob? Where do you live?" The boy paused and looked around as if he was a little confused. "What City?" Misty encouraged.

"I... I live in Pallet town." Jake said.

"Pallet?"

"Yeah, Pallet Town," the boy responded.

"Well then maybe my friend knows you," Misty said hopefully. "Hey, Ash, Tracey come here!"

Ash and Tracey stumbled out of the bushes with Pikachu and Togepy in Ash's arms. Misty reached over and took Togepy from Ash.

"Hey, Ash do you know this boy? He says he is from Pallet." Ash looked at the boy, "Uh... I don't know. What's your name?" Jake looked up shyly and said softly "Jacob."

"Gee, I don't know. I used to know a Jacob back in elementary school, and then there was that one Jacob that lived across the street from Prof. Oak's lab ... oh and then there was that other kid..." Ash trailed off into his own thoughts. Jacob looked confused.

"Jacob, It might help if you gave us your last name too," Tracey spoke up.

"I...I..." Jacob struggled to answer.

"Come on Jake, it's ok," Misty said trying to be encouraging.

"My mommy says that I am not supposed to tell anyone that I don't know, too much information about myself or where I live, so that I can be safe from strangers and people that might want to hurt me." Jacob's little speech sounded as if it had been practiced many times before.

"So you can't tell us your name because you don't want us to hurt you?" Misty questioned. Jacob nodded slowly.

"But Jacob if we are going to help you, I think it would help us if you told us your last name." Tracey said.

"You can tell us Jacob, we won't hurt you." Misty said. Jake looked down at his little sneakers, "I...I... don't...know," he whimpered.

"Come on, you can tell me, I would never hurt anybody." Misty said.

"Well, actually..." Ash started to say.

"Quiet Ash! You're nobody."

"Ouch, that has got to hurt," Tracey commented.

"No, it's not that I think you will hurt me...but... but... but ...but..."

"BUT what!" Ash said with frustration. Jake looked up sadly and said in a voice just above a whisper,

"I...I... don't remember."

Jake's eyes filled with tears again. "I just want to go home," the small boy whispered. There was a long pause of confusion; finally Pikachu broke in. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's hat and scampered over to the child. Pikachu hopped in front of Jake and looked into his eyes as if searching for something. Jake stopped crying and knelt to meet the Pikachu's gaze.

"Pikachu, chu pika pikachu chu pikachu pi chu," Pikachu said. For a moment Jake remained silent then he spoke up, "Pikachu, Pi pikapika pi chu pi kachu pi." Ash's mouth dropped open, "You can speak Pokemon?"

Jake shook his head, "Only Pikachu talk."

"How did you learn to do that Jacob?" Tracey asked obviously interested. Jake responded, "My daddy has a Pikachu, and I learned to talk to it before I learned to talk in English or Japanese."

"You can talk in Japanese too?" Misty asked amazed.

"Well... Yeah, My …Uncle taught me some Japanese before... uh... before he left us."

"Pikachu pi pika pika?" Pikachu asked. Jake knelt down and started a conversation with the electric mouse. The rest of the group looked at each other.

"Misty, Tracey, we need to talk." Ash said. With that the group took a few steps back from the child and pikachu so that they wouldn't be heard.

"What are we going to do with him?" Ash asked.

"I guess we give him to the police," Tracey said.

"Yeah, but where do we find them, we are in the middle of nowhere!" Misty argued. "And," Misty continued "He is really scared, if we gave him to the police then he would just be more frightened."

"We can't keep him, he isn't a Pokemon, we can't just carry him around with us on our travels." Ash argued back at Misty.

"You know Ash for once your right, we can't take him with us through all our adventures... which is why we'll take him HOME!" Misty said happily.

"We don't know where that is though." Tracey said.

"Sure we do, his home is in Pallet! You heard him, he told us." Misty said becoming happier.

"Yeah, but he also said he doesn't remember his last name, If you ask me the kid's a few Magnemites short of an Magneton." This remark came from Ash.

"Here's a question Ash. What kind of things were you capable of thinking when you were four and half!" Misty was obviously getting pretty mad.

"I ... uh... I knew my NAME!"

"Yeah well good for you, did you know anything else?" Ash searched for something to say.

"Look you guys, I think we should decide what we are going to do, not just sit here and argue." Tracey said in hope of returning the peace.

"Look," Misty said, "we are already headed to Pallet anyway, why not take the kid along? He obviously needs help and we can't just leave him out here."

"All right, all right, will take the kid along with us, and then when we get to Pallet will find his parents. Maybe my mom knows them." Ash decided.

"Sounds good to me," Tracey agreed.

"All right, I'll go tell him." Misty said. Misty approached Jake to tell him the news. Jake was finishing his conversation with the electric Pokemon as Misty walked up.

"Hey Jake, what's up?" Misty said calmly.

"Hi Misty," he responded.

"Listen Jacob, My friends and I are on are way to Pallet town right now, and we were wondering if you want to travel with us," Misty said, hope leaking into her voice.

"You mean you would take me home?"

"Yes."

"Back to my mommy?"

"Of course," Misty said smiling.

"Well then I want to go, but...but... would you be there the whole time?"

"Yes, the whole time," Misty responded.

"You would never leave me?"

"Of course not Jacob," Misty said.

Jake got a thoughtful look on his face and looked up with his sparkling eyes. "May I call you mommy?" At the last question Misty was surprised.

"Well, Jake, sweetie I think your mommy might not like you calling me that. Just call me Misty." Misty said as she tried to hide how awkward she felt. Jake looked slightly upset.

"Then may I call you Okaasan?" Misty looked at the boy's young face, confused. "It means Mother In Japanese, but not mother as in my own mother, but as in the mother of another family...at least I think it does." Jake explained.

"Oh, well I guess that would be ok." Misty stated with a smile.

"Then you can call me kodomo," Jake said with glee.

"Kodomo?" Ash asked from his place behind Misty.

"It means child," Misty said answering Ash, "I know a few terms; my mother taught me some when I myself was a small kodomo." Misty said with a smile.

"Well I guess it's settled then. Jacob you're sticking with us," Ash said. Jake nodded and said, "Tracey, you will be ani, ok?" Jake asked. Tracey was confused, "that would mean...?"

"Older brother." Jake answered.

"Oh, ok that's fine with me."

"What about me Jake?" Ash asked. Jake looked at Ash as if he was just realizing he was there.

"Well... I guess you could be tori!" Jake said as he started to laugh.

"Huh?" Ash questioned. Misty thought for a moment and then she started to laugh as well. "Hey! What's so funny!" Ash demanded. In between bursts of laughter Misty stammered out, "It... means...CHICKEN!"

"CHICKEN? Why you little..." Ash looked like he was about to pounce upon Jake.

"Oh come on Ash, I think it's a cute nickname, it fits you perfectly." Misty said, but then she looked at him and started laughing again. A throbbing vein appeared on Ash's head. "This is going to be a loooonng journey." Tracey sighed.

"PIKACHU PI CHUPIKA!" (Translation: And so it begins!)

A New Beginning

After some arguing and yelling the group set forth once again, but this time they were not lost, tired, and yelling at each other; this time they were lost, tired, yelling at each other and they had to watch Jake. When he wasn't racing Eevee, and Pikachu to trees and back, he was asking questions. "How come Togepy gets to get carried by you Okaasan when everyone else has to walk?" Was one of his many questions. "Because, Jake, Togepy is still a little baby and he can't walk very fast." Jake accepted Misty's answers and then would run ahead to race his Eevee.

It was one of those times, on that first day, that Ash noticed the hat on top of Jake's head.

"Jake? Where did you get that hat?" Ash asked.

"This hat? My daddy gave it to me when I turned four. He told me that he had kept it long enough and that it was my turn to take care of it." Jake answered Ash.

"Why do you want to know about an old hat Ash?" Misty asked when Jake was out of hearing reach.

"Well, look at the symbol on back and tell me what it looks like." Misty and Tracey both looked at the faded symbol on the back of Jake's hat.

"I can't tell... What do you see Ash?" Misty asked curiously. Ash slipped his hat off his head and handed it to her.

"Look at that and then at his hat." Misty did as she was told and a few moments later she let out a surprised, "Oh."

"What's going on Misty?" Tracey asked.

"It's the same green symbol on both of their hats. In fact they are almost identical, only Jake's is really faded."

"Your right Misty." Tracey exclaimed.

"Yeah, now give me back my hat," Ash said. Misty handed Ash back his hat.

"How do you think he got a hat just like yours?" Ash shrugged.

"I don't know but they are really rare, maybe his dad was a Pokemon Master!" Ash said getting excited, "And when we get him home, his dad will tell me his Pokemon training secrets!"

"Well, I guess that's possible," Tracey said in deep thought. With new energy Ash ran forward calling out to Jake, "Hey kid! Don't run so fast, you could hurt yourself, and then your parents will kill me!" Misty let out a sigh.

"Well, at least at the pace he is running we might get to a pokemon center tonight, and we won't have to sleep on the ground."

* * *

Later that evening we find are heroes still walking, but now Togepy is being carried in Misty's pack because Misty lost the coin toss on who gets to carry Jake. Jake was snoring softly in Misty's arms, muttering words in his sleep. Togepy was obviously upset over his "competition" for his mother.

"Togeprrriiii!" Togepy called out.

"Togepy, settle down." Misty cooed, "You're going to wake up Jacob."

"TOGEPRRRIIII!" Togepy yelled.

"Togepy! What is it? You want to be carried? Is that it?" Togepy nodded. "Ok, Fine. Ash! Carry Togepy."

"WHAT! Why me? It's not my Pokemon." Ash whined.

Misty let out a sigh, "I can't carry both of them, just hold Togepy until we get to the Pokemon center." Ash grumbled, "Why ME!"

Tracey saw the argument coming. "Hey Misty, I can hold Togepy," Tracey offered.

"Thanks Tracey," Misty said. Togepy unhappily went with Tracey,

"TOGEPRRIII!" It called. Jake stirred in Misty's arms.

"Mommy?" Jake muttered.

"I'm right here Jake," Misty said trying to keep him quiet.

"Huh? Oh, it's you Okaasan. I thought you were mommy." Jake's eyes began to water slightly, "I miss my mom." Oh no, not this again, Misty thought to herself.

"Jake don't worry, we are going to get you home really soon; I promise."

"Really?" Jake asked.

"Yes, my little kodomo," Misty said with a smile.

"Hate to break up the moment but look where we are," Tracey said. Ash looked up the same time as Misty did. There at the foot of the hill that they stood atop of, was the pokemon center.

"Yay! We get to sleep in a bed! No sleeping bags tonight!" Misty said with glee. Ash looked equally happy, "All right! Let's GO!" Ash dashed off with Pikachu at his heels. "PIKA!" (Translation: Let's Go!)

Pokemon Center Nights

After a quick check in with Nurse Joy and a brief eating session our heroes went to their room for the night. The room that they all shared had two bunk beds, just enough places to sleep for all of them. After a brief dispute it was decided that Ash and Jake would share a bunk, with Ash and Pikachu on the top. Jake had to sleep on the bottom because of his fear of heights. Misty slept on the bottom of the other bunk with Tracey on the top.

Ash had climbed into bed with barely a word and had fallen asleep within a few seconds. While Tracey was in the bathroom taking a quick shower and getting ready for bed, Jake stood in the middle of the room confused.

"Hey, Jake why don't you get ready for bed?" Misty asked motioning to the lower bunk, which all ready had his sleeping Eevee on it. "Do you have Pajamas?" Misty asked. Getting no response, Misty walked over to Jake's pack and started to sort through it. "Ah, here we go my little kodomo," Misty said handing Jake a small pair of PJ's. Jake took them from her and slowly started to dress. As he was pulling his PJ top over his head Misty noticed a small brown pouch hanging around Jake's neck on a string. "Jake, sweetie, what is that around your neck?" Jake finished pulling his top on and then clutched his chest protectively.

"It's mine," Jake said, "My mommy gave it to me to protect me." Misty looked confused.

"Protect you from what Jake?" she asked.

"From bad people," Jake said sounding annoyed. Misty decided to drop the subject, seeing that it was just making Jake irritated.

"Well time for bed my kodomo," Misty said when she saw that Jake was done getting into his PJ's. Jake nodded but didn't move from his spot in the middle of the room. Misty reached down and scooped Jake up in her arms, "hey sweetie, why do you look so sad?" Misty asked as she walked over to his bunk with him. Jake didn't respond, he just sighed and put his head on her shoulder. "Cheer up Jake," Misty comforted as she pulled the blankets aside and placed Jake down on his bed.

It was a good thing Togepy was already asleep on Misty's bed or the baby Pokemon would have been really jealous. Misty tucked Jake into bed and then said, "May you have sweet dreams my little kodomo." That's when Jake started crying.

"I want my mommy," he sobbed.

"Oh no, Jake, sweetie, don't cry, it will be ok; I promised you," Misty comforted. Then she got an idea, "hey Jake, did your mommy tell you stories before you went to bed?" Misty asked. Jake shook his head.

"No my daddy did. My mommy would sing me to sleep." _Oh, just great_, Misty thought, _I hope he doesn't expect me to... _

"Will you sing to me Okaasan?" Jake interrupted her thoughts.

"Well, I can't really sing very well..."

Jake cut her off, "Please, I can't sleep unless someone sings to me like my mommy did." Misty looked into his pleading eyes.

"Well, I guess I could try; but I will only sing if you promise to stop crying."

Jake agreed and Misty knelt down by his bed. _Now what should I sing?_ Misty thought, a bit desperate. Jake saw her face and then said, "Open your heart and then the words will come." Misty looked at Jake wondering if it was really he that had spoken. Instead of giving her a real answer he just nodded his head in encouragement. Misty shut her eyes and found herself reaching back in time, back when her mother would sing to her. With her heart she reached out for the words that had been forgotten so long ago, and then the words took form and she started to sing.

_Goodnight, my angel time to close your eyes _

_And save these questions for another day _

_I think I know what you've been asking me _

_I think you know what I've been trying to say _

_I promised I would never leave you _

_And you should always know _

_Wherever you may go _

_No matter where you are _

_I never will be far away _

_Goodnight, my angel now it's time to sleep_

_And still so many things I want to say _

_Remember all the songs you sang for me _

_When we went sailing on an emerald bay _

_like a boat out on the ocean _

_I'm rocking you to sleep _

_The water's dark and deep inside this ancient heart _

_You'll always be a part of me _

_Goodnight, my angel now it's time to dream _

_And dream how wonderful you're life will be _

_Someday your child may cry _

_And if you sing this lullaby _

_Then in your heart _

_There will always be a part of me _

_Someday we'll all be gone _

_But lullabies go on and on _

_They never die _

_That's how you _

_And I Will be _

Misty looked down at the small child to find him fast asleep with his Eevee. _How did I do that?_ She thought, _I thought I had forgotten all those old songs that my mother sang to me… Whatever_, she thought as she looked back down at Jake. She then pulled the covers up to Jake's chin and dropped a little kiss on his forehead.

"Sweet dreams, my little kodomo." Misty walked over to her bunk and sat down just as Tracey was coming out of the bathroom.

"Going to bed?" Tracey asked. Misty nodded and then pulled the covers over her carefully, trying not to wake Togepy.

"Good Night, Misty." Tracey said as he climbed up into the top bunk.

"Good night Tracey." Misty responded. With that Misty shut her eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Sweet Dreams

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Misty found herself in a strange place. The ground seemed to be made out of crystal and as far as she could see into the horizon there was nothing but the crystal like ground. "Where am I?" Misty wondered aloud. Suddenly a mist moved in all around her. She couldn't see anything through the strange fog, not that there was much to see in this strange place.

As she was looking about she noticed a strange figure coming toward her in the fog. "Hello?" Upon hearing Misty's voice the figure stopped. Misty could see little to no detail about this person, except for that it was a women with long hair and she held a strange staff in one hand. "Excuse me," Misty said, "but could you tell me where I am and why I am here?" The woman stood perfectly still, Misty was about to ask again when the woman's voice pierced the silence of the mist.

"The child must be protected," she said. The woman's voice seemed like a whisper inside Misty's mind.

"What? I ... I don't understand." Misty stammered.

"The youth of the future must be protected, the future and present depends on it." Misty stood unsure of what to say, "What youth? What...Child?" Misty said, totally confused.

"The boy must come to peace with his guardian soon, or else the darkness will descend upon this world and all will be lost to the darkness within."

"Who is this boy! Tell me!" Misty demanded.

"The boy is the one whose eyes reflect pure hope and innocence. The one with the old soul and new face." The figure fell silent again.

"That doesn't make sense! If this is so important, then just tell me his name." Misty yelled.

"He holds no name of his ancestors. Only the name given to him by his keepers." Misty felt her mind searching for an answer; she could feel herself coming close to something, and then...MISTY!

Misty sat straight up in her bed. _Where am I?_ She thought. Misty looked around to see herself back in the room she was sharing with Ash, Tracey and Jake. She realized she had never left the room. _I was dreaming, it was all just a strange dream_, she concluded, _but then why did it seem so real_. Misty would have continued this conversation with herself but then Ash interrupted her from her thoughts.

"MISTY!" He yelled.

"Ash Ketchum, what are you screaming about at three o'clock in the morning!" Misty heard a loud sigh from Tracey and then Ash started up again.

"What am I screaming about? It might be because YOUR BRAT has woken up the entire Pokemon Center with his constant wailing!"

"What?" Misty got out of bed confused and that is when she became aware of the high-pitched wailing of Jake. "Oh," Misty said in understanding.

"Do something Misty, he has been like that for at least half an hour and the trainers next door are starting to threaten us."

Misty was mad at Ash, but she found her anger being taken over with concern for Jake. _I'm losing it,_ Misty concluded.

"Well ASH why didn't you get out of your bed and do something about it!"

"Because he's not my brat to take care of, and I didn't even want him here in the first place!" Ash yelled, "And if it was up to me we would have handed him over to officer Jenny!" At this point Jake started to wail even louder (if that was possible).

"ASH, just shut up! You are only making things worse."

Tracey couldn't take it anymore he jumped out of bed and slowly walked over to the wailing child.

"Come on Jake, what's wrong?" Tracey leaned over to try and comfort the young boy. Jake stopped his wailing long enough to whisper to Tracey a single word. Tracey stood up from the sniffling boy and looked directly at Misty.

"He says 'Okaasan,' I think he wants you Misty." Misty sighed and murmured a thanks to Tracey. "Yeah well when I wake up tomorrow, do not remind me of this because I am really tired and to be reminded of it might make me kill someone," Tracey grumbled; with that Tracey went back to bed.

Misty sighed and walked over to Jake's bed. "Hey, buddy what's wrong with you?" Jake started to sob again.

"I want my mommy!" Misty sighed again and kneeled down next to the boy's bed.

"Jake, I told you before, we are taking you home right now and you will see your mommy soon."

"No I won't, she's gone, and I don't wanna be here anymore," Jake sobbed.

"Why not Jake?" Misty asked.

"Because, he doesn't like me," Jake said sobbing harder.

"Who doesn't like you?" Misty asked.

"Ash! He hates me; he wants me to go away. I want to go away, but I can't because I don't know where my home is." Jake cried as he pulled his Eevee closer to him. The Eevee let himself be held as he tried to comfort his young master.

"Nobody hates you. Now come on let's get you back to sleep." Misty said as she pulled the covers up to his chin and tried to tuck him in.

"NO!" Misty jumped back, surprised at the response she had received from the child.

"Wh-what?" Misty stammered.

"I don't want to go back to sleep, the darkness is there waiting for me."

"What darkness?" Misty asked. That's when Misty remembered the strange woman's words, _the darkness will descend upon this world and all will be lost to the darkness within_. Misty shook her head, _that's impossible_, she thought, it was just a dream.

"The dark dreams that won't go away." Misty looked slightly relieved.

"My poor little kodomo, it was just a dream and dreams can't hurt you." Jake snuggled closer to Misty, "well, I... I guess it was just a dream, but it felt like everything was happening again, and I lost my way all over again." Misty let out a sigh.

"Jake, it's really late and I am really tired so how about you go back to bed," Misty suggested as she pulled Jake's covers up to his chin once again.

"I can't sleep, I need someone to sing me to sleep," Jake whimpered.

"Again!" Jake nodded, "when you sing it makes me forget and I don't think about Ash not liking me, and I forget about my mommy not being here." Misty sighed again, "Kid, for one so young you certainly can form some complex thoughts."

"My mommy always said to speak with your heart and soul not just with what's up here," Jake said, tapping his head. There was a moment of silence and then the young boy said, "I wish Ash liked me."

"Don't worry about that old Tori, we don't need him. I can take care of you all by myself." Jake looked up, "Thank You, Okaasan."

"Anytime. Now settle down and I'll see about singing for you," Misty said as she tucked Jake in. She looked into the boy's eyes and she knew almost right away what to sing. "I know the perfect song my little kodomo," Misty whispered. For a second time Misty opened her heart and sang a gentle melody for the child who had become so close to her heart.

_Wherever you are tonight_

_I'll see you in my dreams_

_Wherever I go tomorrow _

_You'll be here next to me_.

_And though we are a world apart _

_I know you'll never be that far._

_Because here in my heart there's a picture of us _

_Together forever, un-faded and unbroken_

_Wherever you are, your love covers me _

_Forever more you'll be here in my heart._

_Whenever I miss, miss you so much _

_It's more than I can bear_

_Now I won't cry_

_I'll just close my eyes and know_

_You'll be there. _

_Another song from my past_, Misty thought, _what kind of key does this boy hold that makes me unlock these memories from my past?_ With a sigh Misty leaned down and brushed the boy's forehead with a motherly kiss. _I am going through the exact same routine my mom used to go through when she put me to bed,_ Misty thought. She stood up and headed back to bed when she heard a noise. She spun around to find Ash sitting up and looking at her.

"How long have you been awake!" Misty demanded.

"I don't hate him, I just... just..."

"Are a complete moron?" Misty broke in. Ash sighed and then said, "No, it's just that, well I don't have any brothers or sisters and I don't know what to do for a crying kid." Misty nodded in response. "By the way Misty, nice song."

"Oh, shut up Ash," Misty grumbled. With that Misty went back to her bed where her jealous Togepy sat, "Togepy, go back to sleep," Misty said. Misty climbed under the blankets but found herself lost in deep thought. She fell into a fitful sleep for the rest of the night.

Pokemon Center Mornings

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!" a scream pierced the early morning silence. Misty was up with a jolt. " MOOOMMMMYYY!" _Not again_, Misty thought. She jumped out of bed and stumbled over a panicking Eevee.

"EEVEE!" It yelled.

"Calm down Eevee, I'll take care of him." Misty said with a sigh. Pikachu was also up and pulling frantically at her leg, "pi pika, pi chu!" it said. "If you're telling me that I need to calm Jake down, I figured that out already!" Misty yelled through the shrieks of the small child.

"Misty? Is he at it again?" Tracey asked from his top bunk. Misty just groaned and asked Tracey what the time was. "It's 6:00; are you going to stay up or are you going back to sleep after you get him quieted down?" Misty shrugged and then walked over to Jake's bunk.

"Jake, calm down. I'm right here." Jake looked up with big watery eyes,

"Okaasan, I'm scared, and I can't remember." Misty looked at Jake curiously,

"What are you talking about? Remember what?" Jake just sniffled.

"I don't want anymore bad dreams about stuff I can't remember good." Misty sat down on the edge of the bunk, still very confused.

Then Misty got an idea, "Jake, why don't you tell me what your dream was about. Sometimes it helps to talk about what is bothering you." Jake just sat looking sad, "I want to but I just can't remember." Misty let out a sigh. _This kid is impossible_, she thought.

"Well, as long as you're awake, you can come with me to go get breakfast," Misty suggested.

"Ok, Okaasan I'll go with you," Jake said, suddenly cheering up.

"Good, now get dressed and I'll be with you in a minute." Misty said as she walked into the bathroom so she could change.

When Misty came out, she found Jake wearing a dark green shirt with overalls.

"Oh, how cute! You look adorable in those overalls!"

Jake blushed, "my mom makes me wear them."

Misty smiled, "Your mom has really good taste." Jake just blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Well, come on my little kodomo; we have to get breakfast." Jake rushed over to her with a huge smile on his face and his Eevee right on his heels, "Eevee can come too, right?" Jake asked. Misty nodded her head.

"What about Tori and Ani?" He asked.

"Those two won't be up for at least another hour," Misty said as she opened the door to the room they were staying in.

Jake smiled and rushed out the door ahead of Misty, "Come on Okaasan! I'm hungry!" Misty sighed, _he probably got less sleep then all off us, and yet he is still up and running around_. Jake called to Misty from the end of the hallway, "Hurry! Are you really that slow? You're moving like an old person! Are you tired? What's wrong? I want to go now, come on Okaasan!" Misty stood looking at the small child in disbelief as he continued to fire questions and remarks at her. She grumbled and quickened her pace. _I think I should start teaching him some manners before his mouth gets him in trouble._

"Okaasan! Eevee says he wants hot cakes!" Misty sighed and continued down the hall, _This is going to be a LONG morning._

On the Road Again

After a morning of breakfast and continuous questions from Jake, our heroes headed out on the trail again; actually it was a non-existent short cut through the woods. To the surprise of Tracey and Pikachu, Ash and Misty weren't arguing. It might have been because they had not gotten their usual amount of sleep, or perhaps it was because Misty was too busy to pick a fight with Ash. With Togepy and Jake both relying on her to protect them, Misty was just a little paranoid.

"Jake? Jake! Where in the world are you?" Misty seemed to say every few minutes. Jake was a very energetic young boy and he seemed to be always wandering off to look at something new, under a rock, in a bush, or in a stream. The kid was into everything and he never stopped asking questions. Fortunately, Misty seemed to be handling it quite well.

"Jake! There you are! How many times do I have to tell you to stay where I can see you!" in other words Misty was worried she was going to go crazy.

"Sorry Okaasan! I thought I saw a bug Pokemon in that bush," Jake once replied. Misty's natural reply to this was to give Jake a little speech about how viscous and dangerous bug Pokemon are. _Oh, brother_, Ash thought_, by the time we get him back home he is going to be one confused kid_. Ash didn't bother with telling Jake the truth about bug Pokemon; he just didn't see a point in it.

After walking around the forest for a while the group decided to take a rest in an open field. The tired Pokemon and Pokemon trainers had all settled down for a lunch break while Jake and Eevee played in a nearby stream. Tracey was about to pass around lunch when an explosion was heard. The group whirled around and...

Prepare for trouble!

And make it double!

To protect the world from devastation...

To unite all peoples within are nation...

To denounce the evils of truth and love...

To extend our reach to the stars above...

JESSIE!

JAMES!

Team Rocket Blast off at the speed of light...

Surrender now or prepare to fight!

Meowth! That's right!

More explosives went off in the background. When the smoke cleared the group could see the two members of Team Rocket and their balloon right behind them.

"Not this again, don't you guys ever give up?" Ash asked.

"We are here for the Pikachu. Now hand him over," Jessie said.

"Not in a million years! Pikachu GO!" Ash commanded.

"PI!" Pikachu cried as it jumped forward.

"Arbok GO!"

"Wheezing GO!" Both members of Team Rocket said simultaneously.

"PIKACHU THUNDER!" Ash yelled. Pikachu's attack blasted towards Team Rocket as lightning bolts seemed to dance across the clouds. The lightning attack hit them head on and sent Team Rocket and their Pokemon hurdling into their balloon. Then the balloon broke and they were blown away shouting, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Well, that didn't take as long as usual," Tracey said. Misty sighed as Ash congratulated Pikachu. That's when Misty remembered something very important.

"Where's Jake?"

Tracey looked around, "wasn't he just..." Misty interrupted him,

"He was in the stream right over..." Misty's sentence trailed off as she pointed in the direction where Team Rocket had stood, "the stream was be-behind their balloon he was playing in...he...he...Oh, no. HE'S GONE!"

"WE LOST HIM! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT ASH!" Ash looked up surprised,

"My fault? Why is it my fault!" Misty had started to run towered the stream.

"I was already watching Togepy! You should have been watching Jake!" Misty called over her shoulder.

"Misty, you're the one who forgot about him when Team Rocket showed up." Ash yelled back.

"You guys! Both of you, quit it! The important thing is that we find him before he wanders off too far." This idea obviously came from Tracey, "besides his Pokemon is gone too, so it must have gone with him, wherever he is, he should be well protected."

As soon as these words tumbled out of Tracey's mouth, a very confused Eevee stumbled out of a bush that sat on the stream's edge. "Eevee?" it asked. Misty ran to the small creature.

"Eevee! Where's Jake? Is he there?" Misty asked a bit frantic. The Eevee shook his head and looked worried, "Eevee...eevee?" Pikachu scampered over to the confused Eevee.

"PIKA, pikachu pipika pi chu. Pikachu pika pi chu pipika pi chu!" Pikachu said. The Eevee answered sounding worried. As Pikachu listened, the electric mouse became more and more distressed looking.

"This doesn't look good," Tracey said. Then Pikachu spun around and started to speak quickly to Ash, "PIKAPI, pikachupipikachuchupikachupichuPIKACHU!" Pikachu rambled on.

"Pikachu, slow down! I can't understand you when you talk so fast!" Ash yelled. Pikachu started over slowly, "PIKAPI, Pikachu pi pikachu chu pikachupi chu PIKACHU!" Pikachu said.

"Well, Ash, What did he say?" Misty asked.

"Uh, well I'm not totally sure, but he said something like: When the bombs went off Jake got scared and he tried to get to us, but he bumped into the balloon's basket. He hid in it and then, well I guess Team Rocket blasted off again." The group was silent for a moment.

"WHAT!" Misty yelled, "Are you telling me that Jake was in the balloon when it took off?" Ash stammered, "We-well, yeah kind of." Misty let out a wail of frustration,

"No! No! No! No! This can't be happening! We have to find him, what if he is hurt or scared, and if he isn't, then Team Rocket has him. We have to get him back."

"Misty, calm down! We'll find him, just calm down." Tracey interrupted her hysteria. Misty took a deep breath, "Ok, yeah, if we all just calm down and think then I am sure everything well be fine." The group nodded to each other.

"Ok, I have an idea," Tracey said. "Go Marril!" Tracey threw out a poke ball and Marril appeared. "Marril!" it chirped. "Ok Marril, listen for Team Rocket, Jake is with them." Marril nodded and perked up his ears to listen for Team Rocket, the people that you would usually want to avoid, and they were looking for them because they had something very important, they had Jacob.

The Captive

"James? Jessie? Where did you guys go?" the cat-like pokemon asked from his position on a tree branch.

"Where up here Meowth," a familiar voice said. Meowth looked up and saw James on a tree branch farther up than his. Beside James was Jessie and beyond the two Team Rocket members was their deflated balloon, hanging in the very top branches of the tree. They had all fallen there when they had blasted off.

Jessie was the first to stand up on her branch. "We'll get that Pikachu next time," Jessie said.

"Yeah," James agreed, "I'm hungry," James continued. Jessie and Meowth fell over (Anime Style ;).

"Stop thinking about food! We get the balloon down, then we eat." Meowth said. Jessie and James nodded. Team Rocket proceeded to get their balloon down from the top of the tree.

* * *

"OK, on THREE. ONE ... TWO ... THREE!" At the end of the count down Team Rocket heaved their weight on a pole that was against their balloon. When three was heard the withered balloon and basket went tumbling down from the top of the tree. It hit the ground with a loud thud. For a moment the only sound was the branches of the tree finally settling. Then a piercing sound broke the regular noises of the forest into a million pieces and it seemed to shatter Team Rocket's eardrums.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The constant screaming came from the basket of the air balloon.

"Did we hurt the basket?" James asked covering his ears.

"Don't be dumb!" Meowth yelled.

"Whatever it is, it's loud," Jessie shouted over the wailing. Team Rocket looked at each other and then Jessie nodded to James. Jessie stepped forward towards the balloon followed by the rest of her team.

When Jessie was close enough to touch it, she snuck up and grabbed the basket by the edge. She looked at James and whispered, "On the count of three, we tip it." James nodded.

"One ... two ...THREE!" she shouted. Team Rocket tipped the basket over and the screaming stopped as a small boy tumbled out, backpack and all. He rolled a few feet before coming to a complete stop right in front of Team Rocket. He sniffled and looked up to see Team Rocket looking at him in confusion. He looked around to see where he was, and when he didn't recognize anything he began to wail.

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH," Jake started up again. When he wailed it seemed that the ground shook and the wind howled.

"Make him stop, Jessie!" James wailed. Jessie stepped forward, "All right, that's enough out of you! Now tell us where you came from and how did you get in the balloon," Jessie demanded.

"I don't know! I-I was playing and then there was dirt flying and explosions!" he began to cry more. "I wanted to hide and then I was flying in the air in this basket an-and ... I want to go back!" Jake cried louder.

"Listen to my question! Why were you out in the middle of the woods by yourself!" Jake stopped crying.

"I wasn't by myself, I was with Okaasan, Ash and Tracey."

"But I thought there were only three twerps," James questioned.

"Hey guys come here," Meowth said. Team Rocket huddled together. "The little kid's part of the twerp's group," Meowth stated.

"Since when?" James asked.

"It doesn't matter, all that matters is dat we can use this to our advantage," Meowth continued, "I have got a GREAT plan to capture Pikachu."

"What is it Meowth?" Jessie asked.

"Listen up, we keep this little kid with us for now, and then we tell those other twerps that they can't have him till they hand Pikachu over to us," Meowth said mischievously.

"We can put it into effect immediately," Jessie said. Team Rocket looked over at Jake simultaneously, and when they did Jake began crying, "I WANT MY MOMMY!"

"You guys don't know how to handle kids do ya?" Meowth asked.

"Let's hurry up and write a ransom note, so we can get Pikachu and get rid of this brat," Jessie yelled over the cries of the boy. James nodded and they began to work on their new plan.

* * *

Later that evening, we find our heroes still searching for Jake. Pikachu was sniffing the ground, and Tracey's Venonat and Marril were searching as well.

"How far could one balloon go?" Misty asked.

"I don't know, it went pretty far into the horizon," Tracey said. Marril suddenly called out, "Marril, Marril!" Tracey ran towards his Pokemon with the others right behind him.

"What is it Marril?" Tracey asked as he parted some of the brush aside so he could see what Marril was talking about.

"What is it Tracey?" Ash asked.

"It's a road," he answered.

"A road?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, It leads to a Pokemon center," Tracey answered as he stepped out onto the road.

"A Pokemon center?" Ash asked as he stepped out also.

"Yeah, right over there," Tracey said pointing down the trail.

"OK, let's go," Ash said as he started to walk towards the warmly lit center.

"Wait a minute!" Misty said angrily, "What about Jake? We haven't found him yet!"

Ash sighed, "But Misty I'm sure he'll be OK, and I'm really tired, the Pokemon are too." Misty looked at the weary Pokemon, "I guess so, But we're leaving bright and early in the morning." Tracey and Ash nodded.

Our weary heroes made there way to the Pokemon center. Misty was walking with her head down, looking really worried.

"I hope he's ok," she mumbled. Tracey was the only one who heard her, he put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it. We'll find him tomorrow," Tracey said giving her a comforting smile. Misty just nodded and let out a sigh, she then looked back realizing that for once Ash was walking behind and not in front of them.

"Hey, Ash what's wrong?" Misty asked. Ash kept looking down, "Nothin," he mumbled, Tracey looked at Ash with a concerned look.

"You feeling Ok?" Tracey asked. Ash coughed and took a deep breath.

"I feel fine, never felt better," Ash said slowly. Tracey's concerned look stayed.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Ash just nodded, as he continued to walk, staring down at the ground. Tracey stopped him by placing his hand on his forehead.

"You do feel kind of warm..." Tracey stated.

"I'm ok, really, let's just get to the Pokemon center," Ash said to assure Tracey. Tracey eyed him for a minute, trying to decide whether to believe him or not. "Ok let's go," he decided.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Rocket had just finished perfecting their plan.

"Ok, We'll start tomorrow, before the sun rises," Meowth said. Team Rocket had taken shelter in a small abandoned cabin in the woods. Team Rocket was gathered around a table talking about the new plans to capture Pikachu, while Jake was fast asleep on his sleeping bag, which he had carried with him in his backpack. The child had fallen asleep after wailing for three hours straight.

At the moment everything seemed at peace, but then, just as Team Rocket had settled down for the night and shut off the lights, Jake woke up. Instead of keeping to his usual routine of screaming and wailing for his mom, he just lay in the dark sniffling. Meowth was the first to awake, he had heard the soft rustling of Jake's sleeping bag. Jake coughed and mumbled something that couldn't be understood. Meowth crawled out of his sleeping bag and crept towards the boy.

"Hey kid, go back to sleep," Meowth said. Jake just coughed and let out a soft whimper. Something was wrong. Meowth stumbled around for a flashlight. He tripped over it and then stumbled around in the dark for it. Once he found it he quickly turned it on and turned it towards Jake. Jake looked up towards the light with a confused look. Meowth let out a gasp at what he saw, Jake was pale except for his flushed cheeks. He was drenched in sweat and was shivering uncontrollably. Meowth slowly put out his paw to feel the boy's forehead, he was burning up and he seemed to be unresponsive of Meowth's actions. _This is not good_, Meowth thought, "Jessie! James! Wake up, we got a problem!"

* * *

Ash woke up with a start; he was lying in the room that the group had picked out for the night in the Pokemon center. He was drenched in sweat and he noticed he was shaking. Ash tried to stand but his legs seemed to lose all strength and he collapsed back on the bed. Pikachu woke up from his trainer's sudden movements and was about to ask what was going on when he saw his trainer collapse.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu asked. When Ash didn't answer Pikachu leapt onto the young trainer's face, he felt his forehead and cried out in alarm.

"Pi-Pikachu?" Ash asked groggily.

"Pikachu pi Pikapi," Pikachu answered.

Pikachu jumped off the lower bunk and hurried over to Misty's bunk on the other side of the room. He lunged and landed right on Misty's face.

"Ack! Pikachu? What's going on?" Pikachu knew she didn't understand him so he leapt off of her and ran over to Ash.

"Pikachu? What's going on?" Pikachu hopped up and down on Ash's stomach,

"PikaPi!" he said frantically.

"What? Something wrong with Ash?" Misty got up quickly and hit the light switch. She saw what Pikachu was trying to tell her. Misty ran back to Tracey's bunk,

"Tracey! Tracey wake up! We have a problem!"

TO BE Continued...

Words and Music by Billy Joel. Copyright 1992 Impulsive Music. Copyright  
1993 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. Lullaby

AND

Music by Plus One

A/N: Story edited on May 24, 2006. It's been a few years. I'm better at grammer now... a little better. LOL. I decided to go back and "fix" some of my writing. Thank you to everyone who had to read the original version. You people are wonderful.


	2. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 2

The Sickness

A cabin in the woods

1:00 am

Jake was sick and Team Rocket's plan had been destroyed. "I think his fever just got higher," James whined, "And he is coughing even more." Jessie gave him an irritated look. 

"I can see that," she said. 

"What are we supposed to do?" James asked. Jake let out a loud cough, "no, mommy.... I'm sorry....please...no," Jake started talking in his sleep. 

"We don't have a choice, we have to get him to a doctor," Jessie said. 

"But if we go into a hospital they could identify us as crooks and then we would be in big trouble," Meowth said. 

"Well then we don't take him to a hospital, we drop him off at a house somewhere," Jessie suggested. 

"What house?" James asked. Team Rocket thought for a moment. 

"Hey! I know, when we were walking down this road the other day I saw a cabin," Meowth said, "If we drop him off there, I am sure someone will take him in," he continued. 

"I guess we have to forget about the plan," Jessie mumbled. James looked at her and then at Jake, "I am sure we can get Pikachu some other way," James said assuredly. Team Rocket nodded simultaneously. 

"Now all we have to do is find the cabin," Jessie said.

*****

In the Halls of the Pokemon Center

1:10 am

Misty was walking quickly around the Pokemon Center. 

"Hello?! Is there anyone there? Nurse Joy?! We need help!" Nurse Joy came walking out of a room still dressed in her uniform despite the late hour. 

"I'm here, What's going on?" Misty's face filled with relief. Just then lightning flashed and a loud crash of thunder was heard, rain started pouring down onto the roof of the Pokemon center. Nurse Joy looked out the window, "Oh, dear," she stated. 

Misty started to look frantic again, "Nurse Joy, I need your help, please!" Misty cried. Nurse Joy gave Misty her full intention, "What is it? what's wrong?" Nurse Joy asked. Misty quickly explained how Ash was sick and that he needed to see a doctor. 

"Oh dear, I don't think we will be able to get him to a doctor in this storm, you better let me have a look at him," Nurse Joy said. Misty nodded and led the Pokemon doctor to the room. 

***

A Room in the Pokemon Center

1:20 am

Misty, Tracey, and the Pokemon were all gathered around Ash's bunk as Nurse Joy took his temperature. She pulled the thermometer out of his mouth, "102 degrees, that's pretty high." Nurse Joy leaned over to look Ash in the face. He had drifted back into a deep sleep, exhausted from his illness. 

"Ash? If you can here me, everything will be just fine," Nurse Joy said assuredly. Nurse Joy looked up at the troubled group of kids and Pokemon, "I have some medicine he can take; it will bring down the fever, but that's about it." Misty and Tracey nodded, 

"Will he be ok?" Misty asked. Nurse Joy stood up and started to walk towards the door. 

"Well, if we can keep his fever down and keep him from getting dehydrated..... he should be ok," Nurse Joy said. 

"Should be?" Misty asked in a shrill voice. 

"Well, it all depends on him, he seems like a strong kid." Misty just nodded and looked back at Ash. Nurse Joy gave her a concerned look, "I'll go get the medicine," Nurse Joy said as she left the room. 

Tracey looked at Misty in concern, "Maybe you should go for a walk or something, I'll watch him," Tracey offered. Misty just shook her head and took a deep breath, "No, no that's ok. I need to be here," Togepy wandered over to his trainer and patted her ankle, "Togeprrriiiii," the baby pokemon said. Misty gave the baby a weak smile. She sat down on the end of Ash's bed to wait for Nurse Joy to return.

***

In the Forest

1:30 am

Team Rocket was wondering through the forest getting soaked by the downpour of rain. Jake was wrapped in a blanket and being carried by James. Jessie had the boy's backpack. 

"Meowth, where is this cabin?" Jessie asked. Meowth was leading the way through the forest, "It's somewhere around here...." just then Moewth saw a light ahead, "that must be it up there," he said.

Team Rocket crept up to the door of the cabin. 

"Now what?" James asked. Jessie plopped Jake's backpack down on the cabin's doorstep. 

"Give him to me," Jessie said motioning to Jake. James handed the small child to her, still bundled in his blanket, Jake stirred softly. Jessie put him down on the step next his backpack. "There," Jessie said, "we'll just leave him here, knock on the door and then we can make a run for it." James and Meowth nodded in agreement.

Jessie knocked on the door and then ran into some nearby bushes with James and Meowth. Team Rocket waited, but no lights came on in the cabin and the only sound they heard was the soft movements of Jake while he slept. 

"You didn't knock loud enough." Meowth mumbled. 

"You do it, then," Jessie said angrily. Meowth got up and walked over to the cabin, he stepped over Jake and crept to the door. Meowth started knocking as hard as he could and he continued until a light came on inside the cabin. Once the light was on he ran to the bushes to join Jessie and James. The door of the cabin slowly opened and a figure appeared. 

"What the heck is going on out here?" the figure said, whom you could now tell was a young boy. The boy looked around out into the forest, while Jacob remained silent. The boy then shut the door, obviously annoyed. Team Rocket exchanged glances. 

"He didn't see him," James stated. 

"The kid's too quiet, he needs to make some kind of noise," Meowth said. Jessie got up. 

"I'll get him to make some noise," she mumbled. Jessie walked over to Jake and leaned over to look at him. 

"Time to wake up," Jessie said nudging the boy with her foot. Jake stirred and let out a cough, "Come on you need to be louder," Jessie urged. She then reached down and shook the boy, Jake's eyes fluttered open and in his state of confusion he began to do what he did best. 

"WWAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" Jake cried. Jessie clutched her ears and ran back to the bushes. There, Team Rocket waited for the door to be opened. A light flickered on in the cabin again and the same boy appeared at the door. 

"What the...?" his voice was lost in the midst of Jake's cries. The boy looked puzzled as he looked out into the forest, but Team Rocket had ducked behind the bushes. He stared down at Jake and then nodded his head as if deciding something. The boy stooped down and gently picked up Jake, when Team Rocket saw this they ran off into the forest, happy that Jake was no longer in their care. The boy threw Jake's pack over his shoulder and then, taking one last look around, he headed back in the cabin. 

The cabin was pretty plain with a small living room, and a kitchen to the right of the living room. Straight ahead, upon entering through the door, there was a hallway leading to the bathroom, and three bedrooms. A few girls were coming out of the two rooms farthest away from the living room. 

One of the girls came up to the boy who was still holding Jake, who had calmed down quite a bit. She looked troubled as she carefully took Jake away from the boy. 

"What's going on? Where did he come from?" she asked. The boy answered her in a tired voice. 

"He was crying on the front step, I don't know how he got there, someone must of left him." The girl looked down at Jake and brushed his bangs off his forehead, her expression changed as she moved her hand back towards Jake's forehead and let it rest there. 

"Oh no, he's got a fever. Gary, how long was he on the step?" Gary looked back at the door. 

"I don't know, he just started crying a little while ago," he said. 

"Well, we better take care of him," the girl said as she turned around to face the other girls, "Come on, let's make a bed for him." 

Gary stumbled back as his fan club took over the care for the boy; he stood watching Jake with curiosity. Gary thought to himself, where did you come from? No way you were by yourself, Gary looked at the boy's face, you look kind of like....nah ..no way, I'm just imagining things. 

  
  


To be Continued.............

  
  



	3. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 3

Holding On

Pokemon Center

6:00 am

On any other day the sun would be getting ready to come out. On any other day Ash, Misty, and Tracey would be getting ready to wake up and get ready to leave on their journey again. But that wasn't today. The sun was hidden behind a surplus of rain clouds, and Misty and Tracey hadn't slept much at all. Ash hadn't made any improvement since they had found him ill in the night, and the next human medical center was miles away. The sudden thunderstorm had put Misty's already low spirits into a new level of gloom. 

Tracey had gone to get something for all of them to eat and Misty was sitting in a chair next to Ash's bedside, she had nodded off while watching him. Pikachu was sitting on Ash's stomach and was content on staying there. Togepy was waddling around the room trying to find something interesting to do. Jake's Eevee was sitting on the windowsill looking out at the rain pouring down. Misty stirred in her sleep, but did not wake.

******

"Hello? Is anyone here? Oh no, not this place again." Misty found herself in the strange dream place once again. Suddenly a mist moved in all around her. Here we go again, she thought. Misty strained her eyes as she searched through the mist. She was alone for quite a while as she searched through the fog. She then saw the strange figure coming toward her again. 

"Who are you?" The figure stopped. "What's going on?" Misty asked, "Why am I here? Did you bring me here?" The woman stood perfectly still, a moment passed and then she began to speak. 

"The child must be protected," she said in the strange whispered voice. 

"What?" Misty asked. 

"The youth of the future must be protected, the future and present depends on it." Misty had clearly had enough. 

"What youth? Stop talking like that! Can't you just tell me straight out?" Misty said with frustration. 

"The boy must come to peace with his guardian soon, or else the darkness will descend upon this world and all will be lost to the darkness within."

Misty stood unsure of what to do, "Fine we'll do it your way, but what boy?" Misty demanded. 

"The boy is the one whose eyes reflect pure hope and innocence. The one with the old soul and new face." The figure fell silent again. 

"A new face? What? I don't know who..." Misty trailed off. 

"He holds no name of his ancestors. Only the name given to him by his keepers," the strange women said. Misty looked at the strange figure with confusion. 

"No name of his ancestors? What?" Misty thought for a moment, No name of his ancestors? What does that mean? So he has only one name? His keepers gave him his name? Keepers.... like guardians... like parents? Misty broke out of her thoughts and looked up at the shadowy figure. "He only has one name that his parents gave to him?" Misty guessed. The figure nodded, and spoke again, "He carries no name of his ancestors." No name of his ancestors? Only one name, his first name?... so no last name...wait a minute, Misty broke out of her thoughts again. 

"He doesn't have a last name? And he is a new face?" she asked, and once again the figure nodded. "Then I know! It's gotta be ...." 

Misty was awaken by a crying Togepy and Tracey trying to calm it down. 

"Jacob!" Misty said as she as she was brought out of her sleep. Togepy and Tracey both stopped dead and looked up at Misty curiously. 

"Misty?" Tracey asked, "bad dream?" Misty just nodded and blushed slightly. 

"How long have you been back?" Misty asked changing the subject. 

"Not long. I just got back from talking with Nurse Joy, she gave me some more medicine for Ash. How's he doing anyway?" Misty looked at Ash as if she had forgotten he was there. 

"He hasn't woken up, I think.... I think he's just getting worst." Tracey sighed and walked over to Ash's bedside. 

"Guess we'll have to stay here at the pokemon center for awhile." Misty just nodded and went to pick up her Togepy. 

"Tracey, I think I am going to go for a walk around the pokemon center," and with that Misty left with Togepy. Tracey looked at Pikachu. "Pipika pichu pi pikapi." Tracey knew Pikapi meant Ash, but other then that Tracey did not understand a word Pikachu had just said. 

"Yeah Pikachu, I'm worried about them too," Tracey said guessing at what Pikachu was saying. Pikachu nodded and curled up on Ash's stomach again. 

Misty wandered through the Pokemon center, carrying her Togepy in her arms. "It's just not fair," Misty said to no one in particular, "First we lose Jake, then Ash gets sick...." Outside thunder boomed loudly, "...then this stupid storm starts up." Misty sighed loudly. "Togeprrriii," Togepy said comfortingly. Misty walked into the waiting room of the pokemon center, and paused as she came across the Videophones. I wonder if the phones still work; maybe I can call someone, Misty thought. Misty wandered over to the phones, maybe I should call Ash's mom. Misty thought this over for a minute but then decided against it, why worry Ash's mom? There isn't anything she can do from Pallet Town.... still it would be nice to talk to someone about everything. With this in mind, Misty started to search through her pockets, I know it's here somewhere, she thought. A few moments later Misty pulled a worn-out piece of paper from her pocket.

Misty reached for the phone to see if it was working. The videophone's screen turned on and waited for Misty to make a call. Good, at least something is working right, she thought. Misty held out the piece of paper and dialed the phone number. The phone started to "ring," "Ring ring ring! Ring ring, ring! Phone call! Phone call!" Misty waited to see if anyone would pick it up, she checked the time, I hope they're not asleep, she thought. Right before Misty was about to hang up the screen flashed and a women appeared on the screen. 

"This is Professor Ivy speaking," Misty looked at the screen as if she had forgotten why she was calling. 

"Um, hello...I don't know if you remember me, Misty," she said finally speaking up. 

"Aw yes, Brock's friend, of course I remember you. How are you Misty?" Misty didn't respond right away. 

"I'm...I need to talk to Brock," Misty answered.

"Well alright, hang on, he's outside," Professor Ivy said.

For a few minutes Misty was left staring at a blank screen. She heard what sounded like a door opening and someone running. Then Misty heard a loud crash and a voice, "dumb chair," Misty recognized Brock's voice right away. Brock soon appeared on the screen, he was breathing fast and looked like he had to run a long way to get to the phone. 

"Sorry that took so long, I tripped over a chair," Brock looked worried on the screen, "So, What's going on?" Brock asked. Misty remembered everything that had happened and she felt really upset. Her face must of shown it because Brock knew something was wrong right away. "Misty, what happened? You're not by yourself, are you? Where's Ash? What's going on?" Brock fired questions at her. Misty hurried to answer him. 

"I am at the pokemon center, Ash is in the room. The reason I called was because I just didn't know who else to call." Brock still looked worried. 

"What happened?" Misty soon told Brock everything, from finding Jake, to losing Jake, and up to Ash getting sick; the only thing she didn't tell him about was her strange dreams. Brock listened quietly without interrupting. When Misty was done Brock remained silent. 

"I'm sorry I called, I shouldn't have bothered you," Misty apologized. 

"No, Misty! It's ok, I can understand how you feel. I am glad you told me," Brock said reassuringly, "I wish I could help.... I am sure everything will turn out ok, just keep on doing everything you have been doing. It will all turn out ok, trust me." Misty thanked Brock and said she would call him if Ash got any worse, then after saying good-bye Misty hung up the phone. She looked down at Togepy, "Well, I guess we better get back to the room, Tracey will start to wonder what happened to us." Misty walked off then feeling a lot better then she had a few minutes ago.

  
  


**** 

Gary's Cabin

7:00 am

The cabin sat quietly in the woods. All the girls had fallen asleep and Jake was left on the couch fast asleep. Gary had stayed up watching over Jake as he slept, making sure his fever stayed down. Gary changed the damp cloth on Jake's forehead for the third time that morning. Gary was soaking the rag in a bowl of ice water when he heard Jake cough. Gary turned around to find the small child struggling to sit up. 

"Whoa there kid, I don't think you should be moving around to much," Gary said, surprised that Jake had awaken so suddenly. Jake ignored him and continued to try and sit up. Gary walked over to him and eased him back down on to his pillow, "You're still too weak," he mumbled, placing the cloth back on Jake's head. Jake's eyes were fluttering shut, but Jake fought to keep them open. 

"Where am I?" Jake said in a whispered voice. 

"You're in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, I've been staying here for awhile with my fan club," Gary answered. 

"How...how'd I get here?" Jake asked in a scared voice. 

"Calm down, I found you on the front step. Don't you know how you got here?" Jake shook his head slowly. "Well then, you should get some rest," Gary suggested, but Jake shook his head again. 

"Who are you?" Jake asked timidly. 

"I'm Gary Oak from the town of Pallet," Gary said proudly. Jake mumbled something under his breath that sounded something like Gary Oak? Gary looked at the young child still trying to figure him out, "So what's your name kid?" Gary asked. 

"Jacob," Jake whispered quietly. He then looked up at Gary, and Gary saw that he looked like he was going to cry, "G-Gary? Am I....am I going to die?" Jake said nearly crying. Gary looked shocked, "What? Die? No, of course not! Why would you think something like that?" Gary said; even though this came out like Gary thought it was the stupidest question in the world, he really hadn't been trying to be mean. Jake's eyes watered more then ever, and he let out a quiet sob. 

"Hey! Don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you, Please don't cry!" Gary pleaded, but it was too late. There is nothing crabbier then a sick kid who just woke up and is used to being pampered. Jake let out a pathetic sob, and then started crying for his mom... LOUD. 

"Gary what's going on?" one of Gary's cheerleader's had woken up and was wandering into the room. She saw Jake and went immediately to his side, "Oh, poor baby," The girl said picking up Jake and rocking him gently. Gary sighed, taking care of this kid is going to be harder then I thought. 

  
  


Road to Recovery

It had been three days since Ash and Jake had been found sick. At the Pokemon Center Ash had barely made a move. He had woken up twice to eat and then gone right back to sleep. He seemed to be getting better, even though he was too weak to even hold his own spoon when he ate. Misty said that it was OK because he could barely hold his own spoon when he was well without making a huge mess. It was obvious she was happy he was feeling well again. Tracey and Misty took turns watching him, but Pikachu was constantly with him. Eevee had been sulking ever since Jake was gone and the tiny Pokemon wasn't looking too well. 

It was around noon and Misty was watching Ash, Tracey had taken Eevee for a walk around the Center, and Togepy was napping on Misty's bed. Ash stirred in his sleep, and rolled over with a cough. Misty looked at Ash with concern, I wonder if he will wake up again, He looks like he's having a dream... wonder what he's dreaming about, Misty thought. The storm had finally moved on and the sun filtered through the window and lit up the room. Out in the halls of the Pokemon Center trainers went about their business, lost in the worries of the world, life went on, but in the room, Ash slept, not knowing what was going on around him as he dreamed on.

**

"What's going on?" Ash grumbled he looked around to find himself in total darkness. He was feeling sick and he felt very weak. "Where am I? Hey what's that there?" Ash had been searching the darkness, when he spotted a light up ahead. It was just floating ahead of him, it gave off a strange glow. What is it? Some kind of strange ball of light? Ash thought to himself. Without thinking about what he was doing Ash reached forward, trying to grasp at the light. Something inside told him it was important and that he needed it. As he reached for the light, Ash felt his fingers become warm and he felt his strength return to him. Ash threw himself toward the light. Then the light became so intense that Ash was blinded and he had to look away. 

The next thing he knew he was standing in some kind of broken down building, he heard explosions going off somewhere in the distance, people were yelling but Ash didn't see anyone. Then there was another flash and Ash was somewhere else. He saw people running all around him, some even went through him! That's when Ash realized he couldn't be seen by anyone, he was like some kind of ghost. All the people running around him had faces that were shadowed and it was impossible to see any details on the people's faces. There was only one person he could see, who seemed to be highlighted among the others. It was a small boy being carried by a woman, next to her was a man. The man pulled them both along trying to get ahead of all the other scattering people. Ash knew the boy, but it couldn't be who he thought it was. Jake? That's not possible, Jake is older then that, but if it's not Jake then who....? Ash's thoughts were cut off by another flash of light. 

This time Ash found himself in the middle of a broken down city. He looked around and again saw the same people that had been carrying the small boy. It was different though, the small boy was older and he was carrying a small Eevee. Ash knew that it had to be Jake. The woman was hurrying Jake along, trying to get Jake to move faster. A huge explosion went off and the terrified woman scooped Jake up and took off at a run, the whole time the man was there trying to get her to rush even faster. Ash took off to follow them but there was another flash of light.

Ash was looking now through the eyes of the boy, he knew this because in his arms was a small Eevee and he was being carried by the woman. As he looked back over the woman's shoulder he could see explosions going off, coming closer, closer, and finally..... there was another flash of light. Still looking through the eyes of the boy Ash saw a broken down sign. The sign's letters had faded and the words Pallet Town could barely be read, then another flash. Ash saw he was in a lab, three people were talking, one of them was talking to Jake.....FLASH.... Ash was in some kind of hallway, he heard people screaming and what sounded like lasers being fired....FLASH.....He saw the women in front of him, tears were streaming down her face as she reached out and pushed some kind of button then everything went black and he heard an explosion and more lasers, then, some where off in the distance, he heard the woman scream. 

Ash sat straight up in bed so fast he hit his head on the bunk above him. "Ow!," he yelled and fell right back down on his bed. He had startled Misty so much that she had nearly toppled out of her chair. 

"Ash! What happened? Are you ok?" Misty said startled. Ash was panting as if he had been running, "It was just....just a dream," Ash mumbled. Ash slowly sat up to find that he had some of his strength back and he was feeling a lot better. 

"Misty, where's Tracey?" Ash asked quietly. 

"He's out walking with Eevee," Misty responded, "Are you feeling ok?" she asked. Ash nodded. 

"I feel a lot better actually, how long has it been since I got sick?" Ash asked. 

"Um...three days, Why?" Misty said. Ash groaned. 

"I'm going to fall behind," he grumbled. Misty stopped herself from telling him that he had always been behind, so he had nothing to worry about. Instead she told Ash to get back to sleep or he would never have all his strength back. As Ash dozed off Misty looked out the window into the warm sunshine. Misty thought to herself, Jake...wherever you are, I hope you are safe and sound. I promise you I will find you. 

Just then the door to the room burst open and Tracey came running inside. The sudden noise had caused Ash to sit up fast again and he again hit his head, "OW!" Ash groaned. Misty saw the worried look on Tracey's face. 

"Tracey! What happened?" Misty asked. By the way Tracey was panting he seemed like he had been running. 

"Misty! Eevee it...it ran off!" Tracey said panting. 

"What? It ran off?!" Misty asked. Tracey nodded. 

"I was talking to Nurse Joy, and when I looked down Eevee was gone! A person said they saw an Eevee run out the door, but why would Eevee leave like that?" Tracey looked like he was going to collapse. 

"I knew something like this would happen," Misty said sadly. 

"What?!" Tracey and Ash said at the same time. 

"Well, ever since we lost Jake, Eevee just stares out that window. It probably went off to find him without us," she continued, "I knew I should have talked to it more." There was a moment of silence and then Ash started to get up. 

"Ash what are you doing? You're too sick to go anywhere," Misty said worriedly. Ash gave Misty a frustrated look, "Misty, there is a small Pokemon out there who doesn't know where it's going and it wouldn't even be out there alone if I hadn't gotten sick." Misty shook her head but then saw that Ash wasn't going to stay even if she said no. So Misty agreed, but told Ash that she would make him come back in if his fever went up. After Ash got ready our heroes journeyed outside to find Eevee.

***

In the cabin in the woods Jake was doing better, his fever had gone down and stayed down and he was a lot stronger then when he first arrived. All of Gary's Cheerleaders adored him and Gary had even taken a liking to him. Jake still had nightmares every night and it seemed like they were getting worse. It was on the third day that Jake had woken up with a start because of another nightmare. Gary had been by his side at the time. 

"Hey, Jake calm down. It was just a dream." Gary said trying to get the kid to stop crying. Jake calmed down and looked up at Gary with watery eyes. 

"Joozu, when can I go outside again?" Jake asked Gary. Jake had taken to calling Gary, Joozu. Even though Gary didn't know what that meant, he didn't mind Jake calling him that. 

"Jake, you can go outside as soon as your cough goes away," Gary answered. Jake nodded, but looked rather upset by the news. "Come on kid, I'll make you some breakfast," Gary offered. At the thought of breakfast Jake's eyes lit up and he hopped off his bed on the couch, happily. He then went into a coughing fit and Gary told him he needed to take it easy. 

At breakfast Jake talked a lot in between bites of food and coughs. He always asked questions about Gary's Pokemon and what it was like being a trainer. Gary was more then happy to answer all of Jake's questions, especially the ones about him. As Jake finished breakfast his gaze shifted to the window, I wish I could go outside, it's so beautiful here, Jake thought. Just then a small animal jumped out of the bushes, it sniffed the ground and looked up at the cabin. Jake's eyes grew wide, "Eevee!" Jake yelled. Jake stood up so fast he knocked over a glass of juice and his chair toppled over as well. Jake ran through the cabin and out the door, and Gary, not knowing what was going on, followed him. 

Jake ran outside and over to the Eevee who at the time was looking back at the bushes. "Eevee!" Jake yelled, Eevee whirled around and let out a happy yip. Eevee and child ran toward each other, "Oh Eevee!" Jake cried happily, "I thought I would never see you again!" Eevee yelped happily. Gary saw that they obviously knew each other, so he left Pokemon and owner in peace.

TO Be Continued......

Just a little note from me: In case anyone was wandering, Joozu is Japanese for skillful or proficient. It isn't used as a name for someone it's just something Jake calls Gary.

  
  



	4. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 4

Searching for You

"Eevee! Eevee!" Misty yelled. Our three heroes were searching through the forest near the Pokemon Center. Tracey had sent out his Marril and Venonat to help search for Eevee. Togepy was in Misty's pack so it wouldn't run off. After searching for two hours, Misty was ready to give up. Ash was looking pretty bad but he refused to go in. 

"Ash, you're going to get sick again, and Eevee is probably far from here by now," Misty said. Ash gave her a stubborn look. 

"I am going to find Eevee, I am not going to leave it out here to get lost," he said determinedly. Tracey could tell that they were going to be out there all night if he didn't say something. "Ash, I think we should let it go," Ash gave Tracey a surprised look, "I mean, Eevee was miserable with us. I think we should let it look for its trainer," Tracey said. Ash was silent for a moment, but then he went into a coughing fit. Misty and Pikachu were by his side immediately. 

"Ash?" Misty asked as she reached up to feel his forehead. "I knew we shouldn't have brought him out here," Misty said to Tracey over Ash's coughing, "his fever is way up," she confirmed. Tracey sighed. 

"Well, we better take him inside before he gets worse," he said. As soon as the words were out of Tracey's mouth, Ash's legs crumpled beneath him and Ash started to fall over. "PIKA PI!" Pikachu cried. Misty lurched forward and caught Ash in mid fall. For a moment Misty thought Ash had fainted, but she realized his eyes were still open and he was still trying not to cough. 

"Ash! What happened?" Misty asked with concern. Ash shook his head and started talking in a voice just above a whisper. 

"Misty.....I .... everything's moving around." Ash shut his eyes tightly and then opened them again. He let out a sigh of relief and slowly stood up again. He looked at the worried faces of his friends and gave a faint smile, "just a little woozy, that's all." Tracey and Misty however were not smiling. 

The next thing Ash knew he was being dragged by Tracey and Misty back into the Pokemon Center. Misty was grumbling something under her breath, "a little woozy... give me a break .... he nearly faints and acts like he is perfectly fine..." Misty grumbled on. When they got to the room Ash was practically thrown onto the bed. He immediately tried to sit up, but was stopped by Misty, "STAY! Stay in bed before you faint!" Misty was pretty mad. Ash nodded, obviously seeing her anger, and lay back down on the bed. Misty headed for the door but turned and looked sharply at Tracey. "Watch him! Don't let him get out of bed and give him his medicine!" Tracey nodded, and Misty stormed out the door. Once she was gone, Tracey and Ash looked at each other. 

"You know Ash, I think you scared her. I mean really scared her," Tracey said, but Ash just remained silent. Twenty minutes later Misty walked back into the room, she looked a lot calmer. First she turned to Tracey. 

"Did you give him his medicine Tracey?" Misty asked, Tracey nodded. Misty then turned to Ash, "You, stay in bed and rest. No more walking around for you. Brock wants you to rest, he says you aren't strong enough to walk around and should stay in bed until you're fever is totally gone and you aren't coughing anymore," Misty said, glaring at Ash. Ash gave her an unbelieving look. 

"Brock? You actually called Brock?" Ash asked. Misty simply nodded. 

"He was totally convinced he needed to grab the next plane here, but I told him I wouldn't let you out of bed anymore," she said. Ash looked like he wanted to argue but he remained silent and just stared at Pikachu helplessly.

****

Back at the cabin in the woods Jake was as happy as ever. Having Eevee with him, seemed to make Jake well again. After meeting with his Eevee again Jake didn't want to go inside, but Gary finally made him come in when the sun began to set, and the three went back into the kitchen to eat. 

"So, this is your Eevee?" Gary asked. Jake nodded happily. 

"Yeah, This is my Eevee," he said. "I can't believe he found me, I wonder what happened to the others." Jake wondered. Gary gave Jake a curious look. 

"Others?" he questioned. Jake stopped, realizing he hadn't mentioned Ash or Misty to Gary. 

"Well, my ..um ...friends. The ones I was traveling with," Jake said cautiously. Gary seemed confused by this information. 

"Friends? I thought you were lost or something," he said. 

"But.... but I am lost," Jake said softly. 

"What about your friends?" Gary asked. Jake shrugged and his eyes started to water, but he hid them by looking down at his Eevee. "Well, who are they? Did you get lost from them?" Gary asked. Jake didn't answer right away; he just kept staring at his Eevee. 

"I did get lost," Jake mumbled. Gary gave Jake a strange look. 

"Jacob, Who are they?" Gary asked. Jake made a strange sound, something in between a sob and a laugh. 

"Oh Joozu, does.... does it matter? I mean...It's not like...like they tried to...to... find me. I'm with you, I'm .....I'm ok ...I don't need them," Jake's last words were said just above a whisper. He then mumbled that he wasn't hungry and walked back into the living room. 

Once out of Gary's earshot, Jake spoke to Eevee. "They didn't look for me at all, they didn't try to find me. Ash probably didn't care, he probably thought it was good I was gone," Jake began to cry softly into Eevee's fur. "They would have found me by now if they cared enough." Jake began to sob and Eevee cooed softly in his ear. "Oh Eevee! I want to go home!" Then Jake let go of Eevee and reached into his shirt, He pulled out the small brown pouch that hung around his neck. He clutched it in his hands still sobbing, "Okaasan! Please I want to go back home." Jake opened the small pouch and turned it upside down, A small light blue stone tumbled out. He dropped to his knees and held the stone tightly. "Okaasan! Please! I want to go back! I don't care what happens! I want to see you again! Daddy! Okaasan!" Jake stared at the stone as if waiting for something, but nothing happened. He shook the stone angrily, "Come on! Work!" but nothing happened. Jacob stared at the stone in disbelief, he stood up slowly shaking his head, "no....no ....it's not true...NO!" Jake threw the stone angrily down on the floor where Eevee immediately retrieved it. Jake collapsed in sobs as Eevee quickly returned the stone to the pouch and tried to give it back to Jake. Jake at first refused to take the pouch, but then he slowly took it from his Pokemon and placed it around his neck again. 

Jake would have kept on crying, but then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around expecting to see one of Gary's cheerleaders, but there was Gary kneeling by Jake's side. Jake looked up at Gary with watery eyes, and tears streaming down his face. Gary didn't really know what to do, he said the only thing he could think of, "It'll be ok, Jacob." Jake's eyes watered even more and, sobbing, he fell into Gary's arms. Gary sat awkwardly cradling Jake, now what? He thought, I'm not very good at this. Gary shifted uncomfortably and continued to hold Jake until the small boy finally cried himself to sleep. Gary gently put the kid on the couch and covered him up with a blanket. Gary thought to himself, His face is so.... familiar.... and that look he gave me... it's just like before......

----Flashback--

Gary looked out over the grassy field of the schoolyard. He stood waiting patiently for the ball to come his way. He was around the age of five or six, and he hadn't changed much except for his height and he still had a baby face. But his hair was just as wild as ever and he had the same determined look on his face. Gary watched intently as the kids kicked the soccer ball around, he knew any minute the ball could come hurling down the field and he would have to stop it from entering the goal. 

Suddenly a fast kick had sent the ball shooting down the field. It came closer as a kid from the opposite team rushed to kick it towards the goal. Gary stepped forward readily, hoping he wouldn't mess up. I'm not going to be able to stop it...Where's the rest of my team? Gary thought desperately, looking around. Just then a shorter boy came running from the back of the pack, he was fast, but whether or not he could stop the ball or not was uncertain. The boy was running as fast as he could go, but there was no way he would make it. 

He's not going to do it, The ball is too fast and I won't be able to stop it, I'll mess up in front of everyone, Gary thought this very quickly, but it seemed like everything started to move in slow motion. Gary saw as the ball came closer and closer, and then the little boy did something very stupid. The boy stuck his foot out to kick the ball but he missed. He had been obviously not close enough. The boy's foot came up and then down quickly right on the ball. Oh no, Gary thought. The boy lost his balance, and went tumbling forward in the path of all the other players. The boy that had been kicking the ball was the first to go down, and then everyone behind him tripped over him, this went on until more then half the kids on the field had gone down. The ball, being slowed by the clumsy boy's antics, rolled slowly until it bumped into the legs of Gary. 

Gary stood opened mouthed at the sight of his fallen teammates. The boy hadn't just knocked down the other team's players but his own as well. Gary slowly bent over and picked up the ball as a moment of silence came over the field. Then out of nowhere the first comment came. "Hey! Ketchum What in the world are you doing?!" One of the still standing children had said. The kids started to get up reveling the first boy who had tripped and then under him was Ash Ketchum. Ash had been smashed by all the other kids and he started to whimper. "Good Job Ash! You nearly killed everyone, including your OWN team!" Another kid, but this one had just gotten up from the pile of kids. Gary was still in shock, "I.... um... I got the ball," Gary said feebly. No one took notice of him however, everyone was too busy verbally bashing Ash. 

Ash just sat there and took it in, he was probably hurt. Gary was worried but he would never ever say anything in front of everyone else. "Ash! Learn to KICK the ball instead of being your usually stupid self!" Was what tumbled out of Gary's mouth instead. He watched as Ash cringed after his words, Oh God, please tell me I didn't just say that! Gary thought, Why did I say that?! Gary Continued to question himself. Finally the boys decided to stop and get back to the game, "Gary! Kick the ball here! We're going to start over!" The boy then turned to Ash, "Ketchum, go home before you hurt yourself!" after that the boy ran off with the ball Gary had kicked. The ball soon was at the far end of the field as the game went on, but Ash stayed. Finally after a quick debate with himself, Gary left his spot in front of the goal. He jogged quickly over to the fallen boy. 

When Gary reached Ash's side he waited a moment before speaking, "Ketchum?" Gary said softly and then, "Ash?" Ash lifted his head slowly, he looked up at Gary with big watery eyes, tears streaming down his face. "Gary?" Ash said in a trembling voice, "It'll be ok, Ash," was all Gary could find to say at first and then, "Are you hurt?" Ash shook his head. 

"No, I'm ok. I just want to go home," Ash said feebly. Gary helped Ash up. 

"Are you sure?" Gary asked. Ash nodded, avoiding Gary's eyes, and then he started off toward home. Gary watched him go, he wanted to say something else, but he could only stand and watch. Then suddenly Ash turned back and looked into Gary's eyes. 

"Gary, Did you... um... mean what you said?" Ash said trying to sound normal but it was obvious Ash was trying not to start sobbing. Gary stood still, as if frozen in time and then spoke not knowing what he said until after he said it. 

"Ash, no matter what I say or do, on the inside I will always be your friend." Ash's eyes watered even more and with a brisk nod he turned and left the field. Gary watched Ash leave and then went back to his goal feeling a little better. 

---End of Flashback--

  
  


Gary was awakened from his daydream by a soft cough. He looked up startled and saw Jake staring curiously at him from his bed on the couch. For a moment the two just stared at each other. Then Jake broke the silence. 

"Joozu...You know Ash?" Jake asked softly. Gary looked surprised at Jake, how did he know? Gary asked himself. Jake seemed to read Gary's mind, "You were talking to yourself. You said something about being Ash's friend. I was just wandering if you were talking about Ash Ketchum," Jake said looking up curiously. Gary nodded and blushed slightly; he hadn't realized he had been talking aloud. Gary was about to get up when he realized what Jake had said. 

"Jacob? How do you know Ash?" Gary asked. Jake sat up quickly as if Gary had just yelled at him. Jake sat silently as if deciding how to answer, and then after a moment he spoke up. 

"I was traveling with him, until I got lost and then I found you." Jake's last few words had a happy sound to them. Gary wasn't sure what to think, the kid had lied to him! Well not really lied to him...but he had avoided telling him! If Gary had known that Ash...ASH KETCHUM, for heaven's sake, had been the person Jake had been traveling with, he would have done something sooner. Like find Ash and tell him off for losing such a little kid, Gary thought, and then, Whoa, why do I care? He's just a kid, and he's going to slow me down if I keep him too long. Gary looked up at Jacob and saw the boy had started to play with his Eevee. He sat innocently playing happily with the small Pokemon. Gary let out a sigh, How can I not care? He's too darn helpless and innocent. Gary watched Jake for another moment, "I have officially gone soft," Gary mumbled softly. 

Jake looked up and Gary felt like he knew him more then ever. "Hey Jake, Are you, by any chance, related to Ash?" Jake shook his head angrily, "No! There is no way I'm related to that... that... mean jerk!" Jake said irately. 

"Whoa Jacob! It was just a question!" Gary watched Jake as he turned away from him, like he had just seriously insulted him. "What's wrong Jacob? Why don't you like Ash?" Jake continued playing, refusing to answer Gary at all. "Jake? Jake?" The child remained silent. "Jacob? All right fine, have it your way. But you know, acting stubborn just proves that you and Ash are really alike," Gary snapped. This comment got Jake's attention. Jake turned around so fast he startled Gary and Eevee. 

"I am not like him. If I were him I would have found me by now! Ash is just a jerk and I hate him!" Jake said his anger rising, and then he turned back around swiftly, trying to get a hold of his anger. Gary sat shocked for a moment at Jake's out burst. He took a deep breath and decided to put his pride to the side for one moment. 

"Jacob?" Jake didn't move, "Jake, listen to me," Gary pleaded. Jake turned so Gary could see half of his face, to show he was listening. "Good," Gary began, "Jacob, I know you're mad, and that's ok, but you can't let it control you like that. Just because your mad at someone doesn't mean you can take it out on the world. If you hold stuff inside you too long, it...it destroys you from the inside out. It will kill you from the inside out. I know what it's like, you keep stuff to yourself and then soon you say things you don't mean and anger, hatred, and jealousy kind of take over your life." Gary paused for a moment before continuing, "That's one thing you can learn from me. But you can learn a lot more from other people... like Ash. That is why, when we find him, you have to go with him," Gary finished.

"What?" Jake asked in a confused tone. 

"I said eventually you have to go back to Ash. You'll be better off with him, trust me," Gary got up quickly then started to leave Jake alone to his own thoughts, but Jake needed to ask him something. 

"Joozu! Wait!" Jake called. Gary turned briskly to look at Jake. "Joozu, If I leave with Ash, won't you get filled with anger since you don't have anyone to talk to?" Gary stood unsure of what to say, and then a small smile crossed his face. 

"I think I'll manage kid," he said and then he turned and walked out of the room.

  
  
  


To Be Continued......

Well, that's one more chapter. I'm sorry it took me so long to write, I have been really busy. Thanks to all the people who have given me reviews.

  
  



	5. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 5

The Link

It had been two days since Eevee ran off. Two days since Gary had found out that Jake had been traveling with Ash. Jake was a hundred percent better, he played outside a lot and he didn't seem really mad at Ash anymore. Now, whenever Gary mentioned Jake getting lost from Ash, Jake would just say, "I know Tori will find me eventually!" Sometimes he sounded doubtful, but he tried to be happy. 

At the Pokemon Center Ash was feeling practically well again, but Misty didn't believe him and she kept him in bed. Ash hadn't had anymore strange dreams and neither had Misty. Misty never told Ash or anyone about the strange dreams. Ash hadn't said anything about his dream either. 

It was on the seventh day that Ash lay sleeping while Misty was out for a walk and Tracey was dozing in a chair, that Ash had another dream. It started out much the same, Ash found himself in total darkness. "What's going on? Oh no, not this again." Ash grumbled. He was trying to walk but he seemed to be held in place by some force. "What? Hey, it's the ball of light again." Ash said. He had spotted the little sphere of light. It just floated there, giving off its strange glow. What is that thing? I know it's important, Ash thought to himself. Ash reached forward, trying to grab the light. It was important, it had to be. He felt like he needed to have it. He stretched as far as he could. Finally, Ash felt the strange glow on his fingers and he felt a new strength. The light became intense as it engulfed Ash in its warm glow. 

The light surrounded him, it was everywhere. Ash squinted through the light, What? No weird broken buildings? Ash thought to himself. Ash heard something behind him, it sounded like footsteps. He whirled around to see a figure walking toward him. "Hey, who's there?" Ash called. The figure stopped instantly. Ash couldn't really see any detail. It looked like a kid about his age. What in the world? Ash thought. Just then the figure raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the bright light grew dimmer and Ash could now see the figure in front of him. "What?!" Ash did a double take, the figure was a boy, and not just any boy. As the light became less fierce, Ash found himself staring at.... himself! 

"You...you look like me," Ash said, at least that's what it sounded like; Ash's voice seemed to be having trouble finding it's way out of Ash's mouth. The figure nodded and smiled. 

"Of course, that's because I am you," the figure responded. 

"What?!" Ash asked. 

"Well, not you really, I'm a part of you," the figure replied. 

"Huh? A part of me? Which part?" Ash asked. The figure stood in silence for a moment. 

"Well, it's kind of complicated. I'm the part of you that's ..... hmm, how shall I put this? I am the part of you that's linked to Jacob," the other part of Ash said. Ash was obviously confused about this. The Ash look-alike continued. "I am what links you to Jake. I am also the part of you that protects him." Ash looked even more confused. "Ok, look," Ash's double sighed, "YOU are LINKED to JACOB, I AM what LINKS you to HIM! Ok?" Ash nodded, but still looked confused. 

"So, Are you what's giving me dreams about that ball of light and the broken buildings?" Ash asked curiously. The other Ash smiled. 

"Well, that light you see...." Ash nodded, "That's ......... me!" (Ash did an anime fall.) "I just took this form so I could talk to you!" 

"That's you?! So what's with the buildings and explosions then?" Ash asked. The other Ash's smile faded. "Well, that's not my doing, that's just Jacob." Any understanding that had been on Ash's face left immediately.

"Jacob? How does Jacob give me dreams of buildings?" Ash asked. Ash's double sighed again. 

"I can't answer so many questions. I am not sure how he does it. I'm just here because Jake's trying to tell you something and you're not listening." Ash continued looking confused. 

"But, how can I listen to him if he's not here? We lost him a while ago. I don't even know what happened to him." The other Ash laughed.

"Sure you know! You just aren't listening right. You can't just listen with your ears! You have to listen with another part of you, because that's the part of you that knows where Jake is," Ash's duplicate stopped suddenly, "That's me! I am that part of you. You have to listen through me." Ash shook his head. 

"That doesn't make sense!" The other Ash laughed and said. "Sure it does!" Ash took a deep breath. "OK, You are a part of me that is linked to Jake, you are that little ball of light, you are the part of me that knows where Jake is, and...." Ash trailed off. "AND?" Ash's double insisted. Ash continued, "AND I have gone completely insane."

"Wrong again Ashy my boy! AND I am also the part of you that keeps watch over Jake. Better known as Jacob's Guardian!" Ash's double finished happily. "But what does all that mean?!" Ash asked in frustration. The guardian looked around as if he heard something, then he slowly looked back at Ash. "It means that you have been standing here talking to yourself long enough, I need to transmit the message now," The guardian leaned forward holding his hand out to Ash. Ash looked at the hand suspiciously. "Aw, come on Ash! I'm in a hurry here, just give me your hand." Ash timidly reached his hand forward. 

As soon as the two clutched hands, Ash felt a strange power. Beams of light shot out between Ash's fingers. The beams of light filled the area. Ash tried to pull his hand away, but he looked up to find Ash's duplicate wasn't there. Instead Ash's hand was held in place by pure energy. Before Ash could think or do anything, a beam of light hit him right in the face. Then everything was engulfed in blackness. Ash was spinning, up was down, down was up, or perhaps he wasn't moving at all. That's it, he was floating, hovering, and slowly turning. His eyes were open but there was no light, just darkness. He knew he had been hit in the face by that thing, but it didn't hurt. He knew with every ounce of his soul that it should hurt, that beam had been powerful, but he felt nothing. Nothing at all. He knew he was screaming, but there was no sound. 

Am I dead? Ash thought Is this what being dead is like? No answer came to his thoughts. He was alone, alone in chaotic silence. Ash's stomach lurched, and everything slowed down until Ash found himself standing again, just as before, but he was facing darkness. Ash slowly looked around, everything was dark. He looked around wildly until he saw a single twinkling light in the distance. Not again, Ash thought, but this light was different, it was soft. Another twinkling light appeared and then another, and another.

Soon Ash found himself surrounded by lights. They were above him, and below him. Ash soon found that the ground he stood upon was not ground at all, he appeared to be standing on air. At first this thought made Ash panic, but he discovered that the space he stood on seemed to support him just fine. Ash looked around at the hundreds of faraway lights. They look like stars, Ash thought. "They ARE stars," a mysterious voice said. Ash froze, that sounded like..... Just then a small figure appeared out of the darkness. "Jake?" Ash asked in a shaky voice. The figure shook his head. Ash sighed, "Let me guess. A PART of Jake?" the false Jake nodded. Ash looked around, "Where are we?" Ash asked. The young boy did not answer, but he held out his hand with his palm facing up. 

His hand began to glow, and in a flash of light, a sphere of energy appeared, hovering over the fake Jake's hand. The ball of energy glowed brightly and the part of Jake finally spoke, "What is rightfully mine, thought gone forever. Now returned to me, truly yours it was never. The power I hold, deep inside. I let some free, now to shine! Hear my call, I plead to you. I cry out for help, for energy that's true. Come to me, to put suffering at ease. To use for all mankind, ENERGY RELEASE!" The light exploded, and the next thing Ash knew, he was standing in a small clearing in the woods. He stood alone, the false Jake had vanished. Ash whirled around to see a small cabin, he then noticed that everything was blurry like in a dream. 

Ash walked shakily toward the cabin. In there? Ash wondered. Just then a light shot past Ash's face and zipped around the yard. It then shot into one of the cabin's open windows. Ash hesitated, then walked softly to the window. He peered inside the small cabin. Ash saw the ball of light float around the room. It then stopped and drifted down until Ash could see a small form laying on a couch. It was Jake! Jake looked like he was asleep, he turned suddenly in his sleep and Ash saw Eevee cradled in his arms. Jake hugged the Eevee tightly. "Ash? Ash......find me." Jake mumbled in his sleep. Ash stepped back in alarm, Where exactly was he anyway? Ash didn't recognize this clearing at all. Then there was a flash of light and the clearing disappeared. Ash heard someone calling his name off in the distance.

Ash's eyes opened slowly and he found Tracey staring down at him. "Hey Ash, You ok?" Tracey asked. Ash sat up rubbing his eyes, "Yeah, what's going on Tracey?" Ash asked. "You were talking in your sleep," Tracey said. Ash looked startled, "I was? Uh, what did I say?" Tracey shrugged, "You weren't exactly making sense, Ash." Ash looked around the room curiously, "So, where's Misty?" Ash asked nonchalantly. Tracey shrugged again, "She went for a walk with Togepy." Good thing too, Ash thought. 

Ash shook Pikachu awake, who was asleep at the end of the bed. "Pika?" Pikachu asked. Ash slipped out of the bunk and slowly stood up, "Tracey, Do me a favor?" Ash asked. Tracey nodded, "are you sure you feel ok Ash?" Tracey asked. Ash nodded, picking up Pikachu, "Do me a favor and don't mention any of this to Misty until I get back." Tracey looked at Ash with confusion. Then Ash walked briskly over to the door and stuck his head out. Ash immediately stuck his head back in and looked around with a fearful expression. Tracey looked around confusedly, "Ash, uh what are you doing?" Tracey asked. Ash pointed to the door, "Misty's coming, and I have to get out of here," Ash said frantically. Tracey shook his head, "Why? If you leave Misty will kill me," Tracey said. 

Ash bolted across the room towards the window, "Please Tracey! I'll explain later. Just give me some time to get out of here," Ash said as he opened the window. "What am I supposed to do with Misty?" Tracey asked. Ash had already started to wriggle through the window, trying to get Pikachu out first. "Tracey! I don't know! Stall her for me!" Then Ash fell the rest of the way out the window. He let out a soft yelp when he hit the ground, and one of Pikachu's shocks followed right after. Tracey ran to the window, "Ash! Are you ok?!" Tracey asked and then a door opening was heard. Tracey then whirled around and said in a nervous voice, "Oh, hey Misty. Um.....Listen the strangest thing happened. I was asleep and when I woke up Ash was just gone!" Tracey began laughing nervously. 

Ash saw he had little time so he took off through the woods, with Pikachu right at his heels. "Pikapi! Pikachu chu pikachu?!" Pikachu asked. Ash looked down long enough to answer Pikachu. "I don't know Pikachu, We're going to find Jake. That's all I know," Ash answered. "Pikapi, pikachu chu pika pikachu pi?" Pikachu asked as Ash stumbled over a fallen tree. "Pikachu, I don't know how I know, I just do. A part of me, deep down inside told me." Pikachu nodded as he followed his trainer deeper into the woods. In the distance the sun began to set and Ash Ketchem went off to find a missing link. 

  
  


TO Be continued.........

Author's note: HI People! Thank you so much for all your great reviews! I got a total of like 6, Go me! Thanks to mewberries and pikapal! Thanks again!

  
  



	6. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 6

Finally Found

Ash ran through the forest for quite a while. He paused momentarily to catch his breath and he noticed that the sun was starting to sink behind the hills. "We better hurry before the sun sets all the way," Ash said to his electric Pokemon. Pikachu nodded in agreement, "Pikapi pika pichu pikachu Pipika?" Ash struggled through some brush and bent down to pick up Pikachu, so that the small pokemon wouldn't have to go through all of the tangled plants. "Well, I am not exactly sure, but I know it's around here somew-" Ash was cut off when his foot got stuck and he fell forward with Pikachu still in his arms. "AHHH!" Ash yelled as he flew forward out of the brush. Ash landed on his side, with half of him in the bushes and half of him in some kind of clearing. 

Ash looked around to see a small cabin sitting near the edge of the clearing. Ash knew he was in the right place. "This is it Pikachu, this is the place," Ash confirmed. Ash slowly stood up and quickly walked towards the cabin. He ran around the side of it and saw the window; the same exact window that was in my dream, Ash thought. Ash tiptoed toward the window and looked inside. He saw the room and the couch, but no Jake. 

Just then Ash heard loud, childish laughter. Jake? Ash thought. Ash rushed around the house to find Jake, safe and sound, playing with his Eevee. Jake reached down and picked up a stick, he then threw it across the yard, and Eevee scrambled madly to retrieve the small stick. Jake laughed happily at the little pokemon. Eevee picked up the stick, turned, and trotted happily back towards Jake. Eevee stopped suddenly and dropped the stick, Eevee had seen Ash. "EEVEE!" Eevee yipped happily, and took off in Ash's direction. Eevee ran past Jake and leaped into the air. Eevee hit Ash right in the chest, "Eevee!" It cried happily. "Hey there Eevee," Ash said with a smile. 

Ash looked up from Eevee to Jake, who hadn't moved from his spot. Jake stood still looking at his shoes. "Jacob?" Ash asked. Jake's shoulders shook and he looked up with a jerk. Jake's eyes watered, and he sniffled loudly. "A-Ash?" A smile spread across Jake's face, "Ash! You found me! You finally found me!" Jake yelled as he rushed forward towards Ash. Ash held open his arms, "Jacob, I'm so glad you're alright," Ash whispered as Jake flung himself into Ash's arms. "I thought you'd never find me," Jake exclaimed. Eevee ran happily around the two boys. "Come on Jake, we need to get back before it gets too dark," Ash said as he sat Jake down and stood up. "Oh no, wait Tori. I have to say good-bye to Joozu first," Jake said in a rushed voice. "Joozu?" Ash asked. 

Just then Ash heard footsteps, and a voice, "hey! Jacob! Time to come inside now!" I know that voice! Ash thought. Then Gary stepped out from behind the corner of the cabin and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Ash. "Oh, it's you," was all Gary said. Jake bounded happily toward Gary and grabbed his hand. "Ash this is Joozu! He took care of me when I was sick, " Jake said happily. Ash nodded slightly toward Jake. Gary continued to stare at Ash like he was a disgusting bug and then quickly looked down at Jake, "so are you going to leave now Jacob?" Gary asked. Jake looked surprised, "Well, I guess so, but I need to say good-bye to all the girls and get my backpack first," Jake said hesitantly. Gary nodded, "Well, then hurry up," said Gary. Jake nodded and took off toward the cabin door, Gary followed him inside. At the door of the cabin Gary stopped and turned abruptly back towards Ash, who had started to follow. "You stay here. It will only take a minute," Gary said rudely. 

Ash waited outside, where he could hear Jake talking to the girls and the girls saying things like: "He's leaving? But he just got well." 

"What if he gets sick again?" 

"Good-bye sweetie! Take care." 

"We love you sweetie." 

"We'll miss you."

Ash listened to Jake's good-byes and he felt a slight twinge of guilt. They were really going to miss him, and Ash had never shown any kind of affection toward the boy. Ash quickly brushed away the feeling, why should he feel bad? After all, Ash had come out here in the woods by himself just to find Jake. 

Just then the door opened and Jake came bounding out with his backpack and hat on. Gary came out right after, his expression was dull. Jake turned to him, "Joozu, thank you for taking care of me when I was sick, and thanks for being my friend," Jake said with a smile. Gary kneeled down by Jake so he could see into his face. "Your welcome Jake," Gary glanced up at Ash, "and remember what I told you, ok?" Gary asked. Jake nodded, and an awkward moment went by where Gary and Jake just stared at each other. Gary slowly reached forward as if to hug Jake, but then decided against it, and instead Gary ruffled Jake's hair. "Ok then kid, Take care of yourself." Jake looked a little confused as Gary started to stand up again, but before he could Jake grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. Jake shook his head and smiled, "Joozu, you're so funny," with that Jake threw his arms around Gary's neck and hugged him. Gary looked slightly shocked and Gary's face turned slightly red when he noticed the way Ash was looking at him. "I'll miss you Joozu," Jake said with a sniffle. Gary cleared his throat, "Well, I'll miss you too," Gary choked out the last three words. Ash had the most amused expression on his face and that just made Gary more embarrassed. 

Jake stepped back from Gary with a smile, "Good-bye Joozu!" Jake said happily. "Bye Jacob," Gary mumbled and then he looked quickly up to Ash, "What are you looking at Ketchem?!" Ash turned his face away, but still looked like he was going to laugh. Jake, however, did laugh, "You guys are SO funny. It's hard to believe you're friends!" Jake said laughing. Ash and Gary looked at each other, "We are not friends!" They said in unison. Jake picked up his waiting Eevee, "Sure you are, Joozu said so," Jake claimed. Gary shook his head wildly, "When did I say that? I didn't say that!" Gary protested. Jake walked over to Ash, " yes you did Joozu. You said 'Ash, no matter what I say or do; On the inside I will always be your friend.'" Gary looked bewildered, "That....That was a long time ago," Gary stammered. Jake shook his head, "It doesn't matter, you said ALWAYS, and always is forever," Jake declared.

Gary looked for ways to deny this, but instead he said, "Hey, how do you know anyway? I never told you that," Gary said accusingly. Jake sighed, "I told you before; you were talking to yourself when I woke up." Gary looked at Ash, "You don't remember that anyway so it doesn't matter anymore," Gary said crossly to Ash. Ash looked like he was going to say something but decided against it. Ash looked down at Jake, "We better go before it gets even more dark," Ash mumbled and Jake nodded. "Ok, Bye Joozu! Come on Eevee I'll race you to the edge of the clearing!" And with that, Jake took off, with Eevee right behind him. 

Ash slowly turned and began to walk away. Gary stood silent for a moment watching him leave, "Ash?" Gary called. Ash turned around and nodded at Gary. "The kid's important, take care of him," Ash nodded, "I know he is, and I will take care of him," Ash said before he turned to walk away, but Ash paused and turned back around. "Gary?" Ash asked, Gary raised an eyebrow at Ash, "I was Five. The soccer field at the school, you were the goalie. I do remember, Gary," Ash said quickly before turning and briskly walking away. 

Gary watched as Ash and Jake made their way out of the clearing, he watched until he couldn't see or hear them at all. "Always is forever....hmmm," Gary whispered to himself, "maybe Ash, just maybe......." 

To Be Continued........

"The greatest foot prints are the ones we leave in each others hearts."

While writing this part, this quote came to my mind. I am not sure who said it, but it wasn't me, so no suing me, because I'm saying right now it's not my quote. 

Any way, I don't own Pokemon ......Blah blah blah. Jacob is however MY character. I don't care if there is a Pokemon story out there that's got a guy named Jake in it. THIS Jacob is MY Jacob. All Rights Reserved and all that stuff. 

Thank you reviewers! I didn't even start really writing this part until mewberries gave me a review. Every time I started to write I was like "Wait, I can't continue yet, mewberries hasn't told me if they liked the last one or not yet." I didn't realize how much I have come to depend on Pikapal and mewberries reviews to get me motivated. Thanks! You two are great! 


	7. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 7

A Cry in the Night

Jake walked happily through the forest by Ash's side. Ash was lost in his own thoughts as the forest slowly grew darker. "Tori?" Jake asked, breaking Ash out of his thoughts, "How far is it to the Pokemon Center?" Ash looked around, "It shouldn't be far," Ash said, but what he thought was, Good question. What direction did I come from? "Tori?" Jake asked again, "what? Ash replied. "We're lost, aren't we?" Jake asked calmly. Ash didn't answer instead he wandered in front of Jake, "I think it's this way," Ash said trying to sound like he knew where they were. 

The two boys and their Pokemon walked in one direction for what seemed like forever. Pikachu was riding on Ash's hat and Eevee was in Jake's arms. Ash walked ahead looking for..... looking for.... Where is it? Ash thought. Ash was looking inside himself for that feeling that had led him to Jake. He thought that the same feeling would lead him back to the Pokemon Center, but the feeling had long since passed. It stopped when I found him, Ash thought, looking down at Jake.

Ash was starting to worry, the sun had gone down and it was getting hard to see where they were going at all. Ash had thought about sending out Charizard for some light, but Ash didn't fell like getting barbequed at the moment. The night wouldn't have troubled Ash so much if he had just taken his backpack with him. Then at least, he would have had a sleeping bag and maybe some food, but no. He was wandering around the woods at night, totally lost, and all because he had been given a strange message from Jacob while he slept. 

It was then that Ash realized he hadn't mentioned the strange dream to Jake at all, maybe now was a good time. "Hey Jake, were you uh....trying to talk to me earlier?" Jake gave Ash a confused look, "trying to talk to you?" Jake asked. "Yeah," Ash said unsurely. Jake's gaze wandered off into the darkness, he seemed to be thinking, "When do you think I was trying to talk to you?" Jake asked curiously. Ash kicked at a stone trying to act like it was no big deal, "Well, you know, a little while before I found you." Jake looked at Ash strangely, "Before? I think I was taking a nap, Tori." Of course! Ash thought, In my dream he was asleep on that couch. "But you don't remember trying to talk to me? You didn't have any strange dreams?" Ash asked, growing slightly desperate. Jacob looked down at the ground and mumbled something. "What?" Ash asked. Jake looked up from the ground and sighed, "I said I don't remember my dreams." 

Pikachu had been listening to Ash's conversation with Jake and the little electric pokemon was starting to worry about his trainer. "Pikapi, Pi chu kachu pika?" Pikachu asked. Ash sighed, "I feel fine, Pikachu." Jacob looked at Ash with worry, "Are you sure? You aren't making sense. You didn't hit your head or anything like that?" Jake asked. Ash stopped dead in his tracks, "I said I'm fine! Now let's just stop talking and get walking so we can get to the Pokemon Center," Ash said irately. 

They started to walk again, but Ash and Jake didn't talk anymore. Finally after a few minutes of walking Jake broke the silence, "How are we supposed to get to the Pokemon Center if we're lost?" Ash continued to walk, deciding he wasn't going to answer that question. Then Ash got an idea, "Pikachu why don't you get down and see if you can smell anything. Maybe you can pick up our trail we used to find Jake." Pikachu nodded and hopped down from Ash's hat. Pikachu began sniffing the ground he went around a tree and then his ears perked up. "Pikapi, Pikachu!" Ash smiled, "Alright! Come on Jake, Pikachu found the trail." Jake simply nodded and smiled, "I know what he said Tori." Ash looked at Jake surprised. "Did you forget that I know what Pikachu says too?" Jake asked. Ash laughed nervously, "Uh, of course not! I remember." With that the two boys set off towards the Pokemon center. 

  
  


**** 

After Ash and Jake followed Pikachu for a few minutes Ash became more confident that they were going the right way. He was sure that some of the trees looked familiar. Jake had started to slow down until he finally came to a complete stop. Ash had continued on ahead, not realizing Jake had stopped. When Ash realized Jake wasn't beside him he started to panic, but Jake called out to Ash first. "I'm here Tori!" The small boy yelled. Ash whirled around, "Jake! What are you doing? It's too dark for you to wander off." Jake made a sad face, "But Tori, you were walking so fast and I'm so tired. I wanted to rest," Jake whined. Ash sighed, "Well I guess we can rest a little." Jake smiled and sat down on the nearest tree stump, cradling his Eevee as always. Ash picked up Pikachu in his arms and leaned against a tree. 

They had only been resting a few minutes when Jake leaped off the stump as if something had startled him. Jake whirled around and slowly started backing away from the trees that he had been facing away from. Jake backed up right into Ash's legs, this startled Jake and he let out a yelp and spun around. Eevee had been frightened so bad the small pokemon had leaped out of Jake's arms. "Jacob are you ok?" Ash asked. Jake put a finger to his lips, "Shhhh, be quiet," Jake whispered. Jake turned around and started scanning the trees farthest from him. "Jake? What's going on?" Ash asked, with a hint of worry in his voice. Jake ignored him and took a step forward, he tilted his head to the side as if listening carefully. 

That's when Ash noticed Eevee was acting strange, the small Pokemon kept darting back in forth in front of Jake. Pikachu was also acting jittery, the electric Pokemon had been startled and climbed up on Ash's hat. Jake had been slowly walking forward toward the trees, but then he stopped suddenly, and so did Eevee. Ash was about to ask Jake what had happened, when it hit him. A wave of fear, but not just fear. It was some horrible wave of dread, like the feeling you get when you trip and fall a distance, and right before you hit the ground you think, Oh man, this is going to hurt. That was the feeling that ran through Ash, but nothing happened. He just stood there in the silence, but the feeling didn't leave. Pikachu had started to tremble, for the dreadful feeling had gotten to him too. 

For a moment no one dared to move, but then Jake stepped forward confidently. "Hey out there! What do you want?!" Jake had broken the silence with his yelling, which had startled Ash so bad he had jumped a good foot off the ground. Jake didn't take in any of this, he seemed to be in his own world. "What do you want?!" Jake yelled again, he paused and tilted his head to the side. "Come out! I know you're there! What do you want from me?!" Jake called. Eevee started growling at the darkness. As soon as Ash was able to find his voice he started inching his way toward Jake, "J-Jake?" Ash said, his voice shaking more then he wanted it to. Jacob quickly turned his head toward Ash, "Tori, Shut up! When something is trying to kill you, you don't go around saying names!" Jake then snapped his head back toward the darkness and continued to listen. 

Ash stood, totally stunned. Trying to kill you? Ash thought. Ash's mind went numb, as if he couldn't even comprehend those words. Ash shakily turned his head in the direction Jake was facing. He didn't see anything, or hear anything for that matter. He finally got his courage up again after a few minutes. "There's nothing out there. I don't see or hear anything," Ash said in a hushed voice. Jake shook his head and glanced up at Ash, "I don't see anything either, but....." Jake trailed off and he took a step back, as if he had seen something. Just then Ash felt another wave of dread, this one was stronger then the last, and it made Ash's stomach clench up. Jake took another step back and glimpsed up at Ash, "You feel that?" Ash looked at Jake in surprise. "You do don't you? You feel it too Tori," The last part Jake had put as a statement not a question. 

Just then Jake's head snapped back and he looked up toward the trees. As soon as he did the wind started to howl and it blew the branches of the trees back and forth. Jake started breathing hard as he darted his eyes back to the trees and then to the darkness he had been searching into before. Jake slowly reached up and grabbed Ash's hand. "Tori? Does Pikachu know the way back?" Ash nodded. "Even in the dark? And even if we were running really fast? He would still be able to find the way back?" Jake asked in a strangely calm voice. Ash looked down at Jake, trying desperately to keep from panicking, "What do you mean by tha-" Jacob quickly cut him off, "Yes or no?" Ash cleared his voice, "Pikachu can do it," Ash said confidently, trying to hide his growing fear. 

That's when they heard the tree fall, it hadn't been far off. In fact, by the way it sounded, the tree had met its demise only a little out of there sight range. Jake tightened his grip on Ash's hand. They heard more loud noises, bushes being crunched, trees being pushed out of the way and the whole time, the wind howled. Pikachu jumped unsurely off of Ash's hat and looked like he was ready to run for it. Jake quickly bent over and scooped up his Eevee with his free arm. "Tori?" Jake said in a shaky voice, "Pikachu needs to lead us away now." Ash looked down at the trembling child with concern and a mixture of fear. Jake did not share the look, the boy looked at Ash and tugged his hand hard, "NOW would be a good time!" Jake yelled as the noises of destruction came ever closer. Ash broke out of his trance and turned to Pikachu, "Pikachu! GO!" Ash yelled and Pikachu darted off in the direction that would hopefully lead them to safety.

The two ran for what seemed like forever. The sound had been lost after a few minutes of running, but that feeling, that horrible feeling was still there as they followed Pikachu as it darted though the forest. In the dark of the night Pikachu seemed like some kind of ray of hope that told them they would soon be safe again. Ash clung desperately to the thought that soon they would be able to see the Pokemon center lights and they could put this whole hellish experience behind them. Ash ignored his legs, which were screaming for a break, for it seemed that some kind of strange survival instinct had kicked in that let Ash become aware of two things; one, the horrible feeling of dread that just refused to leave and, two, the darting Pikachu in front of him. Nothing else mattered, the world around him could collapse and it wouldn't matter, just as long as he didn't lose track of the sprinting electric rodent that would lead them out of this nightmare. 

Jacob clung to Ash as if his life depended on it (And for all he knew, it did). Somehow he had been able to keep up. He guessed fear had that effect on people. Unlike Ash he wasn't concentrating as hard on Pikachu, he was to busy trying not to trip over the plants that were in his path. The feeling had hit Jacob just as hard, but for some reason he hadn't been so shocked by it. It was a horrible feeling, but something about it was...... familiar. Maybe that's why it scared Ash more then me. I've felt it before, but when? Before? Before what? Before I met Ash or Misty. Too bad I don't remember that far back. Jake was savagely jerked out of his thoughts when his foot caught on something and he was sent tumbling forward. Jake felt his hand jerk out of Ash's and he hit the ground with a hard thud. Ash was so startled that he tripped not very far after and he turned on his heel awkwardly as he tried not to fall. 

Ash was able to catch himself and he jogged quickly to Jake's side. "Jake? Are you ok? Get up, we've got to keep going," Ash said tugging on Jake's arm. Jake groaned, "oh, Tori, I tripped over somethin'...." Jake trailed off as he reached back to find what the heck had gotten in his way. Ash was already inspecting it, "it's a log...." Ash trailed off, and then, "Hey Pikachu! Come here!" Ash called. Pikachu had stopped when he realized that Jake had fallen. Now Pikachu wandered over to Ash, "Pika Pikapi?" Pikachu asked. Ash motioned to the log, "isn't this the log I tripped over when we first started looking for Jacob?" Pikachu sniffed the fallen tree and looked happily at Ash, "Pika!" Pikachu confirmed. "But that means that the Pokemon Center is.........." Ash trailed off and then quickly got up and wander over to the bushes, "Over there!" Ash finished happily as he pointed to some not too faraway lights. Jake got up quickly, "Let's go then!" He said happily. The two headed off toward the direction of the lights, feeling like none of any of the frightening experiences had occurred.

  
  


To Be Continued.........

WOW! Another part done! This was sure a strange one wasn't it? What WAS that thing in the woods? Or maybe it was THINGS? Hahahaha, You'll all just have to wait till I put up the Next Chapter, in (Dramatic music here) JACOB'S STORY! Of course not all questions will be answered in the next one, I like to keep ya'll guessing. MWAHAHAHA! -ahem-

  
  
  


Disclaimer: No I do not own Pokemon, I just borrow the characters so I can entertain others. If I did own Pokemon I would start showing the episodes in order! And I would make sure there weren't any "lost" episodes to begin with. I do however own Jake, he's MY character, he was created from MY funny little mind. 

Thanks again to all the Reviewers! -Cough, even if there are only two of you, Cough, ahem- Thanks anyway people

  
  



	8. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 8

Back at the Beginning

The two boys and their Pokemon strolled up to the doors of the Pokemon center. "I can't believe we made it," Ash said with relief. They walked through the doors of the facility, all the nightmares of the night left behind them. The Pokemon Center was warm and inviting, Jake smiled triumphantly as he gazed happily around the center. "I'm finally back," Jake sighed, "so Tori, where's Okaasan?" Jake asked. Ash's face fell as he remembered Misty. "She's ....uh......In the room?" Ash asked himself. Jake looked at Ash curiously, "You don't know where she is?" Jake asked. "She's probably in the room we're staying in. Don't worry just follow me." Ash said as he started off in the direction of the rooms. The question is, Ash thought to himself, is she on a rampage or not? They walked in silence for a few minutes, Ash had started getting nervous, and Jake had noticed. "Tori?" Jake asked. "What?" Ash said nervously. "Why are you so nervous?" Jake asked. Ash shook his head, "I'm not nervous. Whatever gave you that idea?" Jake sighed, "Your heart," he answered simply. Ash gave Jake a confused look. "Your heart, it's beating really fast," Jake said, answering Ash's confused face. 

They walked a few more steps before Ash stopped dead in his tracks, "wait just a minute. How do you know what my heart is beating like anyway?" Now it was Jake's turn to look confused, "Well, ...uh...," Jake scratched his head, and then he let his hand fall over his own heart, "I... just knew," Jake said quietly. "So, why are you nervous?" Jake said, trying to change the subject. Ash sighed, he would've pursued the heart-beating thing longer, but he was really tired, "When I left to go find you, I left without telling anyone anything, and I left Tracey with Misty to cover for me." Ash took a deep breath, "So, Misty might be a little mad when we get there," Ash finished. Jake nodded, "I see." 

As they walked on down a hallway, Ash thought about bringing up the heart-beating thing again, but his thoughts were interrupted by a door slamming open toward the end of the hallway. Out through the door came a steamed redhead, she turned around briskly and shouted behind her, "I don't care! I'm not going to just sit here and wait while Ash wanders around getting lost!" Then Ash heard Tracey's voice, but he couldn't make out what he was saying, Misty opened her mouth to start yelling again, but Ash interrupted her, "I'm not lost," Ash said. Misty whirled around, surprised that someone else was there. "Ash!" She yelled happily, for a moment she looked like she was going to hug him, but she quickly decided against it as her face darkened. "Alright! What happened? Why did you run off into the forest at night? Don't you know you could have been lost?! Or hurt?! Why do you have to be such a moron?!" 

Misty was going to yell some more, but that's when Jake stepped in, "Okaasan, I'm sorry it was my fault Ash left, he came to find me," Jake said guiltily. Misty looked shocked, "Jacob?" she said in a shaky voice, then a smile spread across her face, "Jacob! You're back!" Misty stooped down and wrapped the boy in her arms. "I was so worried! I thought you were dead!" Jake looked slightly alarmed at this, "dead? I wasn't dead. I did get sick though, Okaasan." Misty pulled away from Jake, "sick? You poor thing. What about Team Rocket? what happened?" Jake became silent and tilted his head to the side. After thinking for a minute Jake told Misty everything he remembered, which wasn't much. All Jake really knew was that he had been with Team Rocket and then he had gotten sick, fallen asleep and then woken up on Gary's couch. Everything after he had gotten sick was fuzzy. 

"So, how did you go from being with Team Rocket, to being with Gary?" Misty asked. Jake shrugged. By this time Tracey had wandered out of the room, carrying Togepy and had been listening to Jake's story. "I don't know, Team Rocket was really awful. Gary said he found me on the door step one night," Jake said thoughtfully. Tracey spoke up, "Team Rocket must have dumped Jake with Gary when he got sick," Tracey concluded. Jake looked up as if he had just realized Tracey was there, "Oh, hey Tracey," Jake said with a smile. "Hey Jake, I'm glad you're back with us," Tracey responded. Jake smiled, "me too Tracey, me too."

  
  


****

Everything had gone back to normal at the Pokemon Center. Jake had made it back safely and because of that Misty hadn't killed Ash or Tracey. The four were finally all together again, and Misty was sure that is was going to stay that way. The night Jake came back it was like a huge weight had been lifted from Misty's shoulders, everything was fine again. When finally the excitement of Jake coming back was over, our heroes settled down for a well-needed night's sleep. 

Misty tucked Jake into bed with his Eevee. The small pokemon had curled up on to its young trainer's pillow and fallen asleep. Togepy had been less then thrilled with Jake's return and it followed Misty around jealously. Just as Misty was pulling up the covers for Jake, Tracey came walking into the room. He gave Misty a nod and then climbed into the top bunk of the two beds on the other side of the room. Ash was already sound asleep on the bottom bunk. Misty had agreed to sleep on the top bunk of the other two beds and she let Jake sleep on the bottom. She just hoped Togepy didn't fall off. 

Misty soon finished tucking Jake in and she smiled at the sleepy child's face. "Good night Jake, sweet dreams," she said brushing the boys bangs out of his face. Jake nodded and yawned, "Good night Okaasan," he said shutting his eyes. Misty smiled and started to climb up with Togepy to the top bunk, but then she remembered something. She quickly sat Togepy down and walked over to Ash's bunk. "Ash?" she whispered, Ash didn't move. "Ash, are you asleep?" Misty demanded. Ash slowly rolled over, "not anymore, what's going on Misty?" Misty shuffled her feet and looked from Ash to the disgruntled Pikachu that had just woken up. "I just wanted to say..." Misty trailed off, "What?" Ash asked rubbing his eyes. "Thank you," Misty said suddenly, "thanks for finding Jake. It means a lot to me." Ash nodded, but said nothing, he simply rolled over with a yawn and a weak "night Misty." He would have said something like, 'No Problem,' or 'it was nothing,' but it hadn't been nothing. First he was given a strange dream and then he was chased through the forest by ..........something. It had all been too much, Ash wanted to put it all far behind him.

Misty slowly walked back to the bunk, she guessed Ash was just tired. She hoped he wasn't getting sick again. She shut off the lights and crawled back up to her bunk. Togepy was waiting for her there, "Togypriiiii," it chirped. Misty quickly shushed it and then curled up under the blankets. Misty's last thoughts were, now all we need to do is get Jake home, and everything will be fine, with that Misty fell into a deep sleep. 

The Pokemon Center sat undisturbed in the forest, the trainers inside sleeping peacefully, unaware that not very far off, a pair of eyes stared attentively at the center. Watching and waiting, never moving from that spot. The thing of the night had found what it was looking for, but nothing could be done now. No, it would wait until there were less witnesses. Needed to wait for the right time to strike, until then it would be watching. The thing lurked back to the forest, crushing trees as it went, thinking, soon, child, very soon now. 

Moments passed in the forest with just complete silence following the creature's departure. No crickets or pokemon dared make a noise. Finally, long after the thing's leaving, the crickets began to chirp and the forest was at ease again. Inside the Pokemon Center a young boy stirred in his sleep and clutched the pouch tied around his neck. Jake mumbled, and suddenly sat up in his sleep. He groggily looked around the room and then settled back down on his pillow. Whatever it was that he had thought he felt, it was gone now and he settled back into a dream filled sleep. 

TO BE CONTINUED...............

  
  
  


Well, that didn't answer any questions did it? In fact, it just made things more confusing for all you readers out there. Looks like I'm the only one who knows what's going to happen, MWAHAHAHA! I like to keep you all guessing.

  
  


Disclaimer: In my pocket there is only lint, now think, would there only be lint in my pocket if I owned Pokemon? If I owned Pokemon, I think I would have some money with the lint in there. But alas, there is only lint. IN other words: no, I don't own Pokemon. Jake is mine, take him and you die, though I seriously doubt someone would want the little Pokemon Trainer.

  
  


Sorry this took so long to put up, I have been getting ready for school and I took a break from this series to write a Princess Mononoke story. THANKS TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS OUT THERE! 


	9. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 9

Another Day

Jake woke up early the next morning with a start, his heart was pounding and he felt frightened. He was confused at first, not remembering where he was, until he realized that he was back in the Pokemon center with Ash, Misty and Tracey. He looked around at the sleeping pokemon trainers and was ready to go back to sleep for another hour, when he felt it. A wave of dread, it wasn't as strong as it had been in the forest and it had passed fairly quickly, but it was defiantly there. 

His heart started beating fast as he glanced around the room and felt another wave of fear pass over him. He was so scared and confused he couldn't move, I'm safe now, I shouldn't feel that here, not in the pokemon center, he thought to himself. His fear grew as his heart sped up even more and he tried to move his legs, but they had turned all wobbly. Since he couldn't move he did the one thing he was good at, "OKAASAN!" Jake's scream pierced the quiet of the early morning. 

Misty shot up in her bed with a yelp. She heard the wailing of Jake and quickly struggled out of her bed. She was going a little too quickly and she completely missed the rung of the ladder she was climbing down and she ended up falling half way. She hit the floor with a thud and a loud, "ow!" but she quickly got up and wandered over to Jake's bedside. "Jake? What's wrong?" Misty asked as she sat herself on the edge of Jake's bed. Jake quickly buried his face in Misty's shoulder, "Okaasan!" he continued to wail. Misty looked at the boy quizzically as he continued to sob uncontrollably. Eevee had awaken from all the commotion and was pacing nervously on Jake's bed.

By this time Ash, Pikachu and Tracey had all woken up and were watching Misty and Jake. Tracey was the first to speak up, "Misty? Do you need a hand with him?" Tracey asked with concern. Misty thought for a moment and then she heard Togepy start crying. Oh no, Misty thought as she looked up at the bunk above her. Togepy was teetering on the edge, crying like crazy. Misty looked from child to pokemon a few times before making up her mind about what to do. "Tracey? Will you hold him for a minute? I have to get Togepy," Tracey nodded and started to climb out of bed, but Jake had heard what Misty said and he paused in the middle of his crying to catch his breath. "Noooo! Not ani! Don't want ani! Okaasan! Okaasan!" Jake said as he tightened his hold on Misty. Misty took stared at the little boy for a minute with confusion before she remembered that ani was his nickname for Tracey. Misty tried to settle Jake down, "Calm down. It will only be for a minute, I need to get Togepy," Misty tried persuading him. Jake shook his head wildly, "Not ani! You Okaasan! You!" Jake protested in between sobs. 

Ash had remained silent for a long time, he wasn't sure what to do. When he had woken up he had thought he felt a twinge of dread or guilt, like he did back in the forest, but it was gone now. Now he watched as Jake yelled, cried, wailed and basically threw a fit. He watched as he refused to go with Tracey, he considered offering to take him, but he knew he would be refused also. 

Finally Misty gave up on giving Jake to Tracey, instead she asked Tracey to get Togepy down, which he did. Togepy wasn't thrilled with this, it wanted its "mom." But it's 'mom' was being hogged by a wailing kid, who Togepy was disliking even more every minute. Once Togepy was down it continued to wail along with Jake. Misty knew she was the only one that could quiet Togepy down, but she was trying to calm down Jake. Her eyes wandered to Togepy, to Tracey, and to Jake. Finally her gaze shifted to Ash and she got an idea. "Ash? Aren't you going to help us?!" Misty called. Ash nodded and looked down at pikachu, who had been sitting in his lap. Pikachu nodded at him and Ash jumped off the bunk. 

Ash wandered over to his friends, still unsure of what he could do to help. Misty slowly stood up with Jake in her arms. "Here take him for me so I can calm down Togepy." Ash wanted to argue, he seriously doubted Jake would go with him, but he nodded anyway. Ash slowly took Jake from Misty's arms. Ash held his breath, expecting Jake to give him one look and start waling even louder then before, but that's not what happened. To Ash's surprise Jake opened his eyes and slowly looked up at Ash, "tori...." he whispered through his tears, and then he buried his head into Ash's chest and grew silent. Ash looked at the young boy with a shocked look on his face. "Jacob?" he asked. Jake didn't answer he just sniffled and gave a small cough into Ash's shirt.

Eevee gave out a happy yip when he realized his trainer was better. Everyone else had grown silent, even Togepy. They all stared at the now calm Jake. It was like it had never happened. Pikachu tilted his head to the side, "PiPika?" it asked. Tracey tilted his head to the side with a curious expression on his face, "Well that was sure weird," Tracey said, basically summing the whole morning up.

**** 

We join our four heroes as they walk calmly through the woods. But what's this? It seems that they're lost......again. Misty is keeping her cool, since she promised herself she wouldn't fight with Ash in front of Jake. Togepy is riding along in Misty's bag as Jake runs all over the place with his Eevee. While Tracey and Ash are trying to figure out where they are.

The kids soon find themselves walking on a small trail along the edge of a mountain. To their right is the mountain wall and to their left is a steep slope. Misty looked around, "Ash! I don't remember mountains on the way to Pallet! We're way off course!" Ash looked back towards Misty, "I think we're around Mount. Moon." Misty looked at Ash with surprise, "MOUNT MOON?! But that means we went passed Pallet weeks ago!" Ash looked back at her nervously, "Tracey says we probably went right by it two weeks ago." Misty grumbled under her breath as Jake was checking out the steep slope. "JAKE! Stay away from the edge! You'll fall," Misty said with worry. Jake gave Misty an unconcerned look, "It's not THAT steep Okaasan. I could walk down there without losing my balance," Jake said a little snobbily. Misty gave Jake a warning look, and Jake realized that he had been rude and quickly turned to keep walking. Misty watched him walk off, Since when does Jake have an attitude? He must have picked it up from Gary, Misty thought to herself. 

They continued walking for some time when suddenly Jake stopped. His Eevee had also stopped and was sniffing the air nervously. Misty noticed Jake's actions and peered curiously at him. "Jake? What's wrong?" she asked. Jake ignored her as he scanned the area around him. "Jake?" Misty asked. Jake quickly looked at her, "Shhh, Okaasan," he paused a minute, "Do you here that?" he suddenly asked. Misty listened for a moment and then shook her head, "I don't hear anything Jake," Misty responded. Jake looked at her and took a deep breath, "That's just it. No birds. No bugs, even the wind stopped. Nothing is moving," Jake said in a hushed voice.

Ash and Tracey had stopped when they noticed Misty and Jake had fallen behind. Ash started slowly making his way toward Jake, when he noticed that Pikachu had started shaking. "Pikachu?" Ash asked. Just then Ash was hit with a wave of fear. Oh, no! Not this again! Ash thought as he doubled over. The feeling was much stronger this time and Ash noticed his hands began to shake. "Ash are you ok?" Tracey asked. Ash looked at Tracey, he hadn't been affected at all, he was just standing there, perfectly fine. Ash then looked over at Jake who was leaning heavily against the mountain wall, trying to keep himself upright. Misty was looking with concern at both of them. "Jake are you ok?" she said in a worried voice.

Jake looked up at Misty with concern, the wave had passed, but it had been so strong, it made him sick to his stomach. Ash began to stand up right again, he had felt it too. Why was it so much stronger then last time? Ash thought as he looked at Jake. Jake scanned the trees and then looked directly at Ash, "Tori, it's ......it's........closer then before," Jake stammered. Ash's eyes grew wide as he began scanning the tree line too, "Where?," Ash asked. Jake just shook his head and began to search again. 

"Would you mind telling us what's going on?" Misty asked. "SHH!" Ash and Jake said at the same time as they both continued searching. Just then, Jake gasped and he suddenly doubled over like Ash had done. Misty and Ash took a step toward him, but Ash didn't get very far. Suddenly another wave hit him and the last thing he saw was Jake looking up at him, then everything went black. 

***

Ash heard someone saying his name off in the distance, who is it? Why are they bothering me? Ash thought with confusion. Ash slowly opened his eyes and saw his friends staring down at him. He moved his arm and realized Pikachu was by his side with Eevee. He looked dazedly up at Misty. "Wha-what happened? Why am I on the ground?" Ash asked as he realized he was still on the mountain trail. "You fainted," Misty said, "I don't know what that was about, but you might be getting sick again." Ash shook his head, "I'm not sick. It was that thing again," Ash said defiantly. Tracey looked at Ash with confusion, "Thing?" he asked. Ash ignored him as he slowly got up with the help of Misty and Jake. Jake tugged on Ash's arm, "Tori? It's not gone. I don't know what happened to it, but it's still close. It just stopped giving off energy, that's why you can't feel it anymore. It's almost like it's saving its strength, like it's waiting for something." Jake said fearfully. Ash took a deep breath, Jake was right, the feeling was gone now. Misty looked from Jake to Ash, "Will, you please tell us what's going on," Misty demanded. Ash shook his head, "Later, we have to get off this mountain," Ash said as he felt panic start to take over. Jake nodded in agreement. 

Misty sighed and looked over at Tracey. Tracey was confused, but he figured that as soon as they got off the mountain, then it would all be explained. So, they began to walk the opposite direction so they could get back on level ground. It wasn't very long when Jake had stopped in his tracks and began looking around again, Ash had stopped too, but he hadn't felt anything yet. Jake looked wildly to his left and then to his right, finally he looked up. Up above the trainers there were many ledges and Jake was sure that the thing he was looking for was on one of them. "Tori?" Jake asked in a shaky voice, "yeah Jake?" Ash asked nervously. Suddenly a small rock rolled off one of the ledges directly above Ash and Jake. It rolled down the slope, until it came to a complete stop at Jake's feet. That's when the wave came again, Ash and Jake both gripped the side of the cliff. This was getting very annoying.

Misty and Tracey were looking back at Ash and Jake with confused expressions. They had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, from some where above them, a rumbling sound was heard as a big boulder came lose from its place and began to descend down the mountainside. It came crashing down right above Ash and Jake. Pikachu and Eevee were both too stunned too run. So were Ash and Jake. Ash saw Pikachu and Eevee, both unable to move, the feeling had hit them pretty hard too. Ash quickly made up his mind, he gathered up all the strength within him, shaking off the feeling as much as he could, and he scooped up Pikachu and Eevee. With one quick heave he tossed both Pokemon toward Misty and Tracey. As soon as they were out of harm's way, Ash reached down and picked up Jake. Ash saw the boulder racing toward the two of them. There was no time to run left, no time to run right, so Ash did the only thing he could think of, he turned and took off down the side of the mountain. It was steep, but Ash could still run with out falling. 

Ash moved his legs as fast as they would go. He could hear the giant boulder smashing into trees and brush directly behind them. He wanted to take Jake and run left or right, anyway would be fine as long as it wasn't in the boulders path, but there was now a tree line around them. By the time Ash would get over or around the trees, they would be squashed. Jake had shaken off his numbness and was struggling in Ash's arms. The kid was freaking out, and he didn't really trust Ash to carry him to safety, he figured Ash would trip and then they would die. 

Ash swerved around a very large tree, maybe that will stop the boulder, Ash thought. It was only a second after he thought that, that he heard the tree meet its demise to the merciless boulder. Ash felt sick, this was a BIG chunk of rock. But then Ash realized that the boulder was slowing down a bit. Now if he could just keep running down the mountain he would be perfectly fi-, just then Ash tripped and he went rolling down the mountainside with Jake in his arms. Sky! Ground! Sky! Ground! Everything was spinning but then Ash felt his head hit something and everything blurred and faded. 

"TORI!" Jake yelled as Ash went flying through the air. Ash hit the ground and began to roll, with Jake screaming the whole way. When they finally stopped Jake kicked his way out of Ash's arms when he realized that Ash wasn't moving. Jake looked at Ash frantically and saw a small trickle of blood making it's way down Ash's cheek. Ash had hit the side of his head on something and he had been knocked out. "TORI!" Jake yelled again. Ash's eye's fluttered open just as the rock was about to seal their fates. Jake's scream was the last thing Ash heard before he drifted off into unconsciousness again. 

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED..........

  


Wow! Talk about Cliff-hangers!

Disclaimer: No. I don't own Pokemon, And I don't think any one wants me to have pokemon, who knows what I would do with the series! MWAHAHAHA! -ahem- I do own Jake take him and you face my wrath!

Sorry this part took so long to get up, I have been so busy with school, and the Princess Mononoke story I am going to start. 

  
  



	10. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 10

Alright here's the next part................. what do you mean you don't remember what the last part was about? Ok, ok here's a little recap of what happened at the end of the last chapter......

LAST TIME:

Ash tripped and he went rolling down the mountain side with Jake in his arms. Sky! Ground! Sky! Ground! Everything was spinning but then Ash felt his head hit something and everything blurred and faded. "TORI!" Jake yelled as Ash went flying through the air. Ash hit the ground and began to roll, with Jake screaming the whole way. When they finally stopped Jake kicked his way out of Ash's arms when he realized that Ash wasn't moving. Jake looked at Ash frantically and saw a small trickle of blood making it's way down Ash's cheek. Ash had hit the side of his head on something and he had been knocked out. "TORI!" Jake yelled again. Ash's eye's fluttered open just as the rock was about to seal there fates. Jake's scream was the last thing Ash heard before he drifted off into unconsciousness again. 

.........And now it continues...........

  
  


Start Over 

What's going on? Where am I? These were Ash's first logical thoughts. Before these thoughts there was nothing, nothing that would register anywhere close to saneness anyway. He could've sworn that he was about to be squashed by a gigantic boulder, but there he was, thinking to himself, obviously alive. He knew he wouldn't be able to really think if he was dead. But maybe he was dead. How did he know what death was like anyway. Then Ash remembered the time he had "died" in Lavender Town. But this wasn't anything like that. 

Then Ash saw a light ahead of him. The ball of light again? Ash thought to himself, does this mean I'm dreaming again? He asked himself. This time he didn't have to reach for the light, the light came to him. It zoomed closer, and closer until he was sure it was going to hit him, but then it stopped. It hovered a moment in front of his face and Ash watched it curiously, but before he could do anything, the thing exploded in his face. There was light, bright light, and Ash became aware of a throbbing pain on the side of his head. Ash felt himself start to regain consciousness and he opened his eyes to find more bright light.

Ash blinked trying to clear his vision, but he couldn't make out anything, everything was blurry. The first thing he was able to recognize was a furry yellow blur. "Pikapi? The blur asked. "Pikachu?" Ash responded in a raspy voice. Ash blinked his eyes again, trying to bring the blurry Pokemon into focus. "PIKAPI!" Pikachu cried happily. Then Ash saw another form lean over him. "Ash?" The form asked. Ash shut his eyes and tried to clear his head, What's going on here? I thought I was going to be squished by a boulder, Ash thought to himself. "Ash?" The form asked again, "Can you here me?" Ash slowly opened his eyes again, and he found that he could see a lot better now. He looked at the form above him, which he now recognized as Tracey. "Yeah, I can hear you," Ash answered slowly. 

Tracey smiled with relief, "I'm glad you're awake. We've been really worried," Tracey said. Tracey looked up from Ash and looked to Ash's right. "Hey Misty! Wake up, he's awake!" Tracey said happily. Ash heard a rustling noise and he soon saw Misty leaning over him as well. "Ash? How do you feel?" Misty asked worriedly. Ash squinted his eyes, trying to remember. "I'm ok, but where am I?" Ash asked with concern. Misty looked at Ash with confusion. "You mean you don't remember?" Misty asked with growing concern. 

Ash slowly lifted his hand to the side of his head. His fingers brushed what Ash figured was a bandage. "Remember what?" Ash asked softly. Misty sighed, "you don't remember what happened?" Ash looked at Misty for a moment and then his face changed quickly from confusion to concern, "Jacob? Where's Jake?!" Ash quickly struggled to sit up. Misty put a hand on his shoulder and slowly pushed him back down. "Ash relax, you'll make your injuries worse," Misty said frantically. Ash looked at Tracey and then Misty, "Injuries? What....what's wrong with me?" Ash said, starting to worry about himself instead of Jake. 

Tracey shook his head, "It's nothing major, you just have a.... very........a very....small .....very tiny .....concussion," Tracey said nervously. Ash's eyes went wide, "A what?" Ash said as he tried to sit up again. This time Misty didn't stop him, Ash sat up and looked around. Ash knew he was defiantly not in a Pokemon center. He was sure it was a hospital room. It was a white room with little machines and things checking his pulse rate and such. At least that's what Ash figured the machines were for, he didn't know a lot about medical equipment. Ash looked at Tracey and then Misty quickly, "Where are we?" Ash asked. Misty sighed, "The hospital at the base of Mount Shi," Misty said. Ash tilted his head to the side, "Mount Shi?" Misty nodded. "After we found you, Tracey, Venonat and Marril went down the mountain for help. They couldn't get an ambulance up there, so they sent a helicopter to pick you up. It took us here, to Mount Shi hospital." Ash stared off into space, How could that be so? He was sure that he was dead, And when Jake screamed I was sure..... Ash's thoughts trailed off as he remembered Jake. "Jacob?" Ash quickly looked from Misty to Tracey, "Where's Jake?" Misty looked down at the floor avoiding Ash's gaze. Ash was frustrated at this, "Well, Where is he? What happened? Is he....?" Ash watched as Tracey bit his lower lip. "Did he....?" Ash then grabbed Misty's arm, "Misty, come on! What happened?" Ash said with more frustration then ever. "Did he.... is he ..... ok?" Misty quickly looked up at Ash, "Well..." Misty trailed off. Ash shook Misty's arm, "Misty, where is he? What happened? Why isn't he here?" Ash sounded as if he was going to go hysterical. 

Misty gently put her hands on his shoulders, "Calm down, he's right here," Misty said with a sigh. Then she moved over and turned to look at the bed set up next to Ash's. Ash sighed with relief as he realized Jake was in the bed right next to his. Jake was as pale as the white hospital sheets he slept on and his breathing was irregular and shallow sounding. Eevee was fast asleep by Jake's arm. Ash seemed to be lost in a trance as he studied Jake's still form. Misty sighed, bringing Ash out of his trance. Ash slowly shook his head and then realized that he was still holding on to Misty's arm. He gently let go and muttered an apology under his breath. 

Ash looked up at Misty, but she seemed to refuse to look at him. "Misty?" Ash asked. Misty nodded, but didn't speak. "Misty? What... What's wrong with him?" Ash asked quietly. Misty shrugged, then she quickly stood up and turned her back to Ash. Tracey figured she was checking on Jake, which she was; But what Tracey and Ash didn't realize was that she had turned away to hide the few tears that had escaped out of the corners of her eyes. 

Ash gave Misty a confused look and then he looked to Tracey. Tracey sighed and then took a deep breath. "The doctors haven't really told us what's wrong with Jake, And when they do tell us things, they always say that they aren't sure of anything yet," Tracey said sadly. "They told us about you, but all they said about Jake was that he went into shock probably due to mental trauma," Tracey stopped and looked up toward Jake. Ash also looked over at Jake, "probably?" Ash asked. Misty then turned back around and nodded at Ash. "That's all they'll tell us. I think they won't say much to us because we aren't his parents or related to him at all. In fact, they're getting really suspicious of us, because I couldn't even give them Jake's whole name," with that Misty looked back down at the floor. 

The three friends fell silent as they watched Jake's practically lifeless form. "Pikapi? Pikachu pipika pika?" Pikachu asked his trainer. Ash shook his head, "I don't know, the last thing I remember was Jake..... screaming. After that, I don't remember anything," Ash said weakly. Misty and Tracey looked at Ash curiously, "You don't remember?" Misty asked with confusion. Ash shook his head. "You don't remember what happened to the boulder?" Misty asked in disbelief. Tracey cut in, "Misty, he was unconscious when we found him, so he wouldn't know about the boulder." Ash looked from Misty to Tracey, "remember what about the boulder?" Ash asked. Tracey scratched his head thoughtfully, "well, the boulder kind of....," "Exploded!" Misty cut in. "What?" Ash asked, "what do you mean?" 

Misty took a deep breath, "The boulder blew up into a million little pieces. When all the dust cleared, Tracey and I found both of you unconscious." Ash looked from Jake to Tracey and then to Misty, "I don't remember....what .. er ... how.... it exploded?" Ash asked in confusion. Misty nodded her head, "At first we thought it was Pikachu, he had been shocking the boulder, trying to stop it, I guess, when it just exploded," Misty recalled. Pikachu looked up from Ash's side, which he had been nestling the whole time, "Pikapi, chu pikachu," Pikachu announced. Ash nodded his head, "But if it wasn't you that did it, then what happened? How could a huge boulder like that, just explode?" Misty shrugged, "Ash, are you sure you don't remember?" Misty questioned. Ash shook his head again, "all I remember is Jake screaming Tori really loud, and then everything goes black again." Misty sighed again, "Maybe Jake knows what happened, but then again he doesn't look like he's going to be talking anytime soon," Misty said as she looked at the small boy's still form.

The room was snatched up into a moment of silence as everyone concentrated on his or her own thoughts. Everyone was so lost in concentration that no one noticed the small boy's simple movements. First his hand twitched as if he was trying to grasp something, and he tilted his head to the side. This went completely unnoticed by everyone, except for the small, loyal Eevee at Jake's side. Eevee perked up his ears when he saw Jake's hand jerk ever so slightly. For a brief moment Jake remained still, but then, with all the strength within him Jake drowsily opened his eyes.

"Samara?" Jake whispered in an almost inaudible voice. Misty quickly looked up, startled by the sudden small voice, "Jake?" she asked with wide eyes. Eevee jumped up and down happily and licked his trainer's face. Misty immediately rushed over to Jake's side asking him how he was feeling and saying how happy she was that he was ok. At first Jake seemed rather confused about the whole situation, but his confusion didn't continue after a minute of seeing Misty again. He spoke up weakly when he saw how upset she looked, "Okaasan," He said with a sniffle, "Okaasan, I missed you," Jake said as his eyes began to water. Misty carefully took him in her arms and whispered into his ear, "I missed you too, my little kodomo." 

While the two greeted each other again, Ash and Tracey stood by watching and waiting for the right time. Both wondering what Misty would have done if Jacob had never woken up at all. 

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED................................... 

Well, that's what I got so far. You didn't actually think I would kill off Jake and Ash did you? I wouldn't do that! Besides what kind of story would that be anyway? I hope you enjoyed it, because I probably won't get a chance to write another part for quite sometime.... stupid homework. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon blah blah blah, yadda yadda fine print etc. 

  
  



	11. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 11

Jake's Awakening

After Misty was done greeting Jake the other two trainers started to talk to him. It wasn't very long at all before a nurse came in and began to usher Misty and Tracey out of the room. Jake said something about letting Misty stay, but the nurse said she needed to make sure the patients all got the rest that they needed. So Ash and Jake were left alone with their Pokemon. Ash would have liked for his friends to stay, but he was actually feeling pretty tired and when he looked over at Jake he could see the boy was already falling back to sleep.

Ash decided that he just wanted to know one thing before he went back to sleep, "Jake?" Ash asked. Jake rolled over in his bed, "what is it Tori?" Jake said with a yawn. "What's a Samara?" Ash asked. Jake froze for a moment as if something was terribly wrong. Jake looked over at Ash curiously, "Why do you want to know?" Jake asked with distrust in his voice. Ash paused for a moment, he hadn't been expecting Jake to react so hostile toward the question. "You said Samara when you woke up," Ash explained as he looked over at Jake, who simply stared back at him oddly "So what's a Samara?" Ash asked again. Jake didn't reply at first, in fact he turned his back toward Ash, as if he wasn't going to answer at all. Finally Jake responded, "Samara....... Samara is a person," Jake said with a sigh. Ash looked over at him questioningly, "Who?" Ash asked softly. Jake sniffled before finally answering him, "It's no one!" He snapped, "It's not important!" and then Jake fell silent again. Ash opened his mouth to say something, but he really wasn't sure what to say, "Jake, I....I ....," Jake cut him off, "Just drop it Tori!" he snapped again. Ash was totally bewildered at Jake's response and he began to wonder what was wrong with him, but exhaustion finally won him over and Ash fell into a deep sleep. 

Anyone that looked into the room would have seen the two boys fast asleep. You would've had to be standing right next to Jake to know that the young trainer wasn't asleep at all, but wide awake. Tears soaked into Jake's pillow as the young boy whispered his thoughts to his loyal Eevee. Frightened, incomprehensible, murmurings tumbled out of his mouth. Nothing he was saying would have made sense to any sane living being, even Jacob himself wasn't sure of the words he spoke. He understood only one simple word ......Samara........ 

Memories Past

Two Days Later

Mount Shi Hospital

  
  


Sunshine shimmered through the window of the hospital room. It danced merrily across the face of Jacob and his Eevee. Jake stared silently at the ceiling, with his eyes blank, and his expression dull. His Eevee was fast asleep by his side. It had been a few days since he had first awaken in the hospital room. Ash was already up and walking around, but Jake was confined to his bed. It wasn't because he wasn't strong enough to walk, it was because no one seemed to want him to be walking around yet. His face twitched slightly as he remembered the events that had occurred just the night before. 

***Flash Back***

Jake lay quietly listening to the wind rustle the trees outside his window. He had heard voices in the hallway so he had pretended to be asleep. He heard Misty and Tracey talking with one of the doctors. He listened intently to there conversation, knowing it involved him. 

"So when can he start walking around again?"

"He can now; we just don't suggest it." 

"Why not? Ash is better now, why not Jacob?"

"Ash was physically hurt and knocked out. Jacob suffered severe mental trauma and then he fainted."

"So what's the difference?"

"Ash is well, his injuries have been treated and he has made progress, Jacob has been treated for physical injuries as well, but that isn't the real problem with him."

"So what is the real problem? Why can't he just leave with us? If his injuries are well, then I don't understand why he has to stay here." 

" If we were sure of what happened to him, then he would be free to leave, but it seems that he just suddenly had some kind of nervous breakdown and fainted. This doesn't just happen to people who are perfectly happy as you so often describe him. Something isn't quite right with him. Has he ever acted overly nervous or strangely before?" 

There was a pause in the talking and Jake heard someone sigh.

"I mean has he ever been overly frightened or depressed........ has anything ever happened in his past to make him overly upset...... the death of a loved one...an unexpected change in his life.... family separation...... illness?"

More silence followed the question.

"Has he ever acted as though something was wrong with him or shown signs of mental confusion?"

"Jacob isn't mentally ill; if that's what you're trying to ask!"

"That's not it at all, but like I said before, perfectly happy people don't go into mental shock everyday, you know."

Jake heard Misty stamp her foot; or maybe she hit something? And then he heard her stomp off with Tracey close behind. He wasn't sure where the doctor left to, he only knew that he was gone as well. Jake rolled over in his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. Thoughts painfully danced in his mind, repeating themselves over and over, making Jake feel sick to his stomach ... death of a loved one.... overly frightened.... depressed.... mentally ill. Jake sighed heavily, not knowing what to think of it all.

***End Of Flashback***

Jake continued to stare blankly up at the ceiling. It wasn't anything new to him, it was the same boring ceiling he'd been staring at for days. How he wished to see the blue sky again and feel the cool breeze on his face. He knew he was perfectly capable of going outside, but he didn't want to go alone. He was afraid, afraid of what would be there when he got outside. 

No one had bothered to ask him about the boulder and the way it had suddenly exploded. He supposed that they thought he would just say that he didn't know what happened or that he simply didn't remember what had happened. But Jacob did remember. He remembered the way it went hurdling at him and Ash. He remembered how scared he had been, especially when he had seen Ash's cut on his face. His fear is what he remembered the most. It was his fear that caused him to grab Ash's hand in search of some sort of last minute comfort. That is when something happened to the boulder. 

***Flash***

Jacob locked his eyes on the massive rolling rock and he began to scream. With his scream he felt a sudden surge pass through him. It engulfed him and he could feel power rushing through him and as he watched the boulder, he realized that he was no longer afraid. That is when the boulder began to move slowly. Jacob stared in confusion as he watched it fly through the air, just a few yards away, but moving in such a slow manner it was scientifically impossible. Jacob's confusion was quickly taken over by anger, but not just anger, pure hatred. He hated being scared, hated Ash being hurt, and he hated this stupid boulder. The rock was a problem, so it had to go, right..... now! Jake felt another burst of energy course through him as he began to scream with all the hatred and despair that had been kept inside of him for years. The next thing he knew, everything went black. 

  
  


**Flash**

And then...... no more boulder, Jake thought to himself. No, he didn't exactly remember it exploding, but he knew that he had been the reason why it had blown up. He couldn't explain it or prove it for that matter, he just knew. He sighed, still staring at the dull ceiling. He really did want to go outside, but he worried about what was waiting for him out in the open. Whatever was after him, it definitely wanted him gone. Whatever it was, it would come without warning and snatch him up when he wasn't expecting it. 

A single tear of fear rolled down his cheek, he quickly wiped it away and let out a soft eerie chuckle. Overly frightened or depressed? Or how about overly nervous? Jake thought grimly to himself, oh, if they only knew what keeps me awake at night. Jacob suddenly shuddered as a chill ran down his spine. Yes, if they only knew. 

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED...............

A/N : Whoa.......Kind of creepy there. As my story unfolds, you will all see Jake's character develop even more. He's not just an ordinary little kid, that's for sure.Disclaimer: oh yeah, I own Pokemon....... yeah right. It belongs to it's respected company, just like Jake is someone I made up. 

  
  



	12. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 12

Into a Dream

  
  


The room was completely dark, except for a sliver of moonlight that gleamed through the window of Mount Shi hospital. Jacob had been left alone with his Eevee. He was left alone often it seemed, the others hated being locked up in the stuffy hospital. Ash was better and he didn't need to sleep in the hospital room. So Jake was left alone most of the time, during the day he was constantly visited by his Okaasan, and Tori, but at night he felt very alone. His friends were all sleeping somewhere else, but he knew that they would check on him all through the night. Sometimes he would hear them come into the hospital room just to make sure he was OK. Part of him despised being checked on so much as if he was a helpless child. Another part of him was grateful, he hated being alone. 

Jacob listened to the wind outside his window, it sounded so much like the crying of someone he knew......... someone he used to be close to.........Jacob's eye's fluttered shut as he drifted off into a land of dreams. 

***

Jacob's first thought was that he was cold. He lifted his head up to find he was no longer in the hospital room. He was in a strange place, but not one he didn't recognize. The ground was cool and shiny, Jake felt like he was standing on a mirror. Jake couldn't see anything at all around him. The ground seemed to go on forever in all directions. As Jacob looked around, he could feel memories floating back to him. Jake suddenly felt very alone as the realization of his past slapped him in the face. He was alone. His life had crumbled right before his eyes, and it was all his fault. Jake suddenly felt someone watching him, and he let out a sigh. He quickly turned around to find more empty space. He stared intently at the space in front of him, before drawing in a deep breath and finally speaking, "Hide and seek? I know you're spying on me. Humph, and you're supposed to be my friend." 

A second after Jake spoke the empty air in front of him wasn't empty anymore. The space in front of him shimmered with a soft yellow light, it grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding to look at, it suddenly disappeared with a flash. When the light was gone a figure was kneeling in its place. The figure was a woman with dark black hair. She wore a dark lavender purple cape around her shoulders and in one hand she held a white staff with a large purple gem at the top. Under the cape she wore a long lavender gown. She spoke while still kneeling, "My sincerest apologies my little Prince of Hope. I wasn't sure if you would remember," the woman spoke in a soft soothing voice. Jake seemed annoyed by her presence. "We've talked about this, don't call me little Prince of Hope anymore, I'm not what you think I am." The woman looked up to reveal her cold metallic like eyes, "but you are. You cannot escape your past Jacob, no matter how hard you try. You need to come back and face it...." Jacob didn't let the woman finish, he quickly placed his hands over his ears and screamed, "NO! I won't! I won't! I don't want to!" 

The woman waited for Jake to quiet down before starting again, "Jacob, you must! If you don't-" Jake began screaming even louder trying to drown her out, "IF YOU DON'T, THE WORLD IS DOOMED!" Jake stopped screaming and glared at the woman, "I don't care. I never asked to be the one to save it in the first place." The woman glared back at Jacob, "You weren't asked, you were chosen to be the Prince of Hope, it's your destiny," The woman paused and looked at the boy who was now quietly thinking, "You would understand it much more if you would just stop pushing away your memories." Jacob remained silent so she continued, "If you would allow yourself to remember, then I wouldn't have to keep coming back to you each night to try and make you remember." 

Jacob turned away from the woman; he had decided that he didn't want to hear anymore. "It doesn't matter how hard you try. As soon as I wake up, I won't remember anything. I never have and I never will," with that Jake turned and began to walk away. The woman stood up all the way and smirked, "Oh, really Jacob? What about Samara?" Jake stopped dead in his tracks, "will you forget her as well? As if she never lived? She would never had given up so easily. Maybe I should have chosen her instead......." Jacob suddenly spun around, "Shut your mouth! You know she can't do it! And you know why too!" Jake bit down on his now trembling lip, "You know why...." A single tear escaped the corner of his eye. The woman smiled gently at him, "I understand that you're scared, but you must face your past, it's the only way. Will you do it for her? For Samara?" Jake took a shaky breath and wiped the tear from his cheek. He stood as tall as he could with his head held high and smiled, "she always believed I was the Prince of Hope. She believed in me, so I guess I could believe in me too. I'll do it.... for her." The purple clad woman smiled, "Then let us begin, my little Prince of Hope." 

  
  


******

  
  


A tired Eevee curiously watched his owner toss and turn in his sleep. Jacob had kicked the blankets off of him and was thrashing about in his sleep. He also kept mumbling inaudible words in his sleep. "Eevee?" the Eevee cooed softly. Suddenly, Jake woke up with a gasp. For a split second he simply lay still with his mouth open slightly, and then the crying ensued. If there was one skill Jake had perfected over the time he had spent with Misty and Ash, it was how to cry. He just lay there wailing like a lost two year old. He carried on for quite some time until he realized that no one was coming. He stopped crying, unsure of what to do next. Jacob sat up in his bed with a sniffle. 

"Eevee?" the little pokemon asked. Jake refused to look at the Eevee, he just sat scowling at the wall. After a moment of silence Jacob spoke up, "Why me? Why every night?" Jacob's voice sounded weary and full of despair. The Eevee nuzzled his arm consolingly. "Tonight, I dreamed ... something about mommy. Daddy was there too, but.... I don't remember. Everything is so dark, I couldn't see past the shadows...." Jacob trailed off, shaking his head. His gaze shifted to the window of the room, and he could hear the wind outside howling almost mournfully. Some time went by before Jacob nodded his head as if deciding something important.

Jake hopped out of the hospital bed, shuddering as his bare feet touched the cold floor. He kneeled down to an object on the floor. Even though it was too dark to tell, Jake knew that this was his backpack. Jake struggled to unzip one of the packs' pockets. Inside his pack were his clothes, his hat, his shoes, and his pouch, which he usually wore around his neck. He figured his Okaasan had put all of his things together including his pouch and hat. He quickly dressed, placing the hat backwards on his head and the pouch around his neck. He then slipped his backpack on and quietly called to his Eevee, "here Eevee, we're leaving." 

"Eevee eevee?" the Eevee asked, hopping into Jake's arms. Jacob shook his head, "We have to go without them, Ash and Okaasan always worry about me too much. Besides, I need to go on alone." Jacob turned toward the window and let out a sigh, "There's something waiting for me out there. I need to find out what it is. I feel like if I don't go, I won't ever remember. Maybe, whatever's out there can help me find out the memories I lost. Even if it is scary, I need to face it, I'm tired of waiting." With that Jake started off toward the door of the hospital, unsure of what was on the road before him. 

A/N: A million apologies for not getting this up sooner. I'll try harder in the future, well I gotta go, hoped you liked this part of my story. 

  
  



	13. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 13

Jacob's Nightmares

Even though it was late at night, the hospital was still active and doctors were walking briskly up and down the hospital corridors. Jake was having a bit of trouble sneaking out of the hospital. Everywhere he looked there was another doctor or nurse. However, Jake had an advantage over the medical people around him. Jake was small for his age. He found it easy to slip behind things in order to hide. Jake snuck around the hallways looking for the elevators, however when he found them he discovered another problem. Jake found that he was too short to reach the elevator buttons. 

"Eevee," Jake whispered to his Pokemon, "climb up on my head and try to reach the button." Eevee stared up at Jake, confused. "Eevee eevee?" the small pokemon asked. "It's the button with the number one on it, at the very top," Jake said pointing toward the control panel. Eevee agreed and hopped up on Jake's shoulder, then he hopped onto Jake's head and struggled to reach the desired button. Eevee stretched his paw as far as he could. "E-eevee...." Eevee struggled desperately. "Eevee, hurry up!" Jake said frantically. Eevee suddenly fell forward, tumbling off Jake's head and into his arms. On the small Pokemon's way down he hit his little paw against the chosen button, unfortunately Eevee's other paws hit three other buttons. 

The elevator grumbled to life and it began moving down. Jacob stared at the four lit up buttons. It appeared that he would be going to floors five, four and two as well as his originally chosen floor. He waited patiently as the elevator moved from one floor to another. He was lucky that no other people tried getting on the elevator, even though he did receive some odd looks when the doors opened and no one stepped out. Finally he reached floor two, only one more floor to go down and he could get out. The hospital doors weren't far from the elevators, he could easily slip out and no one would notice him. 

The metal doors slide open and Jake let Eevee climb up onto his hat. After checking to make sure Eevee was secure, Jake made a dash out of the elevator. As soon as he had, he wished he had looked before running. He took about three fast steps before he found himself on the ground. It took him a second to realize that he had ran into something or ...someone. He looked up to see a very familiar face. "Jacob?" It was Misty. Jake stood up slowly, but his mind was racing; Oh no, She must have been coming to check on me! Should I lie? Say I'm sick? Had a bad dream? I'm sleep walking? Or what? He stood up all the way, letting Eevee clamber back on to his hat. 

"Jacob?" Misty repeated herself. Jacob decided to go with 'Or what?' He quickly reached up and pulled Eevee off of his hat. Holding Eevee high over his head Jake yelled, "Sorry buddy!" And with that Jake flung his Eevee at Misty. It caught her totally off guard, hitting her square in the face. Misty lost her balance and went tumbling backwards. Jake made a break for it and went running as fast as his little legs could carry him out of the sliding hospital doors. 

Jacob burst out of the building into the crisp night air. It was then that he realized that 'or what?' was probably his worst choice, but it had worked. At least now Eevee wouldn't be in danger of ...whatever was out in the forest. Jake let his legs carry him into the night. He didn't know where he was going but he would know when he got there. He closed his ears off to the sounds off the night, and he concentrated on the darkness in front of him. It would have been intelligent to bring a flashlight, it also would have been smart for him not throw his best friend at his Okaasan's face. Funny how things turn out. For example, a few days ago he never would have thought he would be out in the woods alone, with not even his Eevee for company.

He stumbled through the darkness, tripping over a fallen branch every now and then. He didn't know how long he had been walking. Time had seemed to stop, nothing else seemed real, it was just him and the cold darkness surrounding his insignificant body. Jacob stumbled into a clearing, and somehow he knew he was in the right place. He wasn't sure how he knew, whether it was some gut instinct or maybe it was just pure insanity, he wasn't sure. He walked out into the clearing, letting his feet take him until his brain kicked in. 

What am I doing out here? What am I waiting for? What are THEY waiting for? Jake looked up into the sky and for the first time that night he realized that there was a full moon. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool night air. "Too many questions," Jacob whispered to himself. His moment of solitude soon ended when the wind suddenly picked up and rustled the trees surrounding him. His eyes snapped open and he jerked his head to the right of the clearing. The wind ended abruptly as it had began. Complete silence immediately followed. No trees rustled, no sounds escaped the darkness. Jacob could only hear his own harsh breathing.

"What are you waiting for?" Jacob said softly, his voice trembling. Jake bit his lower lip and then took a deep breath. "What are you waiting for?!!" This time much louder. It was then that the feeling hit him. It arrived so suddenly it took him by total surprise and he took in a sharp breath and fell to his knees. Jake's stomach clenched up very badly and he felt it heave as he prepared himself to become reacquainted with his dinner. Jacob gagged for a few minutes, emptying his stomach of what was left of his dinner, before finally regaining control over his stomach. He wiped his mouth and slowly tried to stand up. After attacking his stomach, the feeling attacked his mind. Jake was frozen in fear, his mind began to spin and the trees around him blurred. He felt his eyes began to shut and his legs begin to fail beneath him. He realized he was going to faint right then and there, he would fall right on the same spot he had been gagging over a moment before. 

Even with these thoughts running through his head, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from blacking out. That last thing he saw were the trees being pushed over near the edge of the clearing. What he thought was, Oh, God, I'm in for it now. And with that Jake's world folded down upon him and he fainted.

  
  


To Be Continued.............

  


A/N: Well, That's the end of that chapter. Pretty Scary if you ask me. Sorry It took so long to put it up, I've been busy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, Duh.


	14. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 14

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Pokemon. I only own Jacob, who is just a disturbed little boy anyway, who I doubt anyone would want to take. 

  
  


If I Die Before I Wake....

He could feel the darkness descend upon him. It was a strangely cold feeling that seemed to grasp at his heart. Even in his state, Jacob could still feel the presence of something evil. The darkness was taking him, and he was afraid, but somehow he didn't care. Along with the darkness their seemed to be some kind of peace waiting for him. His heart struggled for consciousness but his mind was tired and it practically welcomed the darkness. He felt like he was falling into the darkness and he was desperately trying to stay up, which was just impossible. An overwhelming feeling of despair came over him and he knew he wouldn't make it. His mind was tired, and his heart was tired. His mental struggle ended suddenly and he let himself fall toward the darkness. He had given up. 

Suddenly Jacob felt something tugging at him. It was soft at first, and then he felt it wrench him up abruptly. With a great force it pulled him away from the darkness and into bright light. Leave me alone, Jacob thought wearily, please, just leave me alone. Suddenly a voice interrupted his melancholy thoughts, "Jacob," it whispered softly, this voice seemed to come from an outside source, but he could hear it in his head, "Jacob?" It whispered again. Jake was still very tired, he wanted the voice to go away and leave him alone. The bright light was intense and it felt harsh against him. Make it go away, please, it hurts, Jacob thought. The voice came again, "Life hurts. That is just the way things are, my Prince of Hope." Jacob became alert at this, Prince of Hope? I know you, don't I? Jacob asked. "Yes, but now is not the time for that. You are in very grave danger my child, and you must be protected, the fate of the world depends on it."

Jacob felt annoyed, he wanted to be left alone, why was this voice bothering him? Why couldn't he just be left in peace? Maybe he could block this nuisance out of his head. "Child? Do you know how close to dying you are? Do you know what that darkness is? It's death, and the moment you shut me out of your mind is the moment you fall and die. And when that happens, this world will be finished, destroyed, and all those you love and care about will be gone. The world will end and everyone will die." The voice sounded bitter as it echoed through Jacob's mind. Everyone will die.... Jacob drifted off softly, Why me? Why? Why do I have to try so hard all the time? Why..... when it hurts so much? The voice snapped back at him, "Life hurts! It always will, no matter what you do. Pain and suffering is a part of life, now you must learn to deal with it and grow up. Your time has long since passed, now stop your whining and step up to meet your destiny. There was a long pause after this. Jacob remained silent for quite some time, he had to take everything in that had just been said to him.

What do I have to do? Jacob asked. "All you have to do right now is wake up, and somehow live through the next ordeal that will meet you when you open your eyes. Just remember, reach for the power inside your soul, for you have a marvelous gift and you must use it. Jacob didn't really understand, but before he could organize his thoughts, he felt a burning sensation right between his eyes. It seemed to sear through his skull, right into his brain. It felt like someone was jamming red-hot iron deep into his head. The pain grew and grew until he couldn't stand it anymore. It was hurting so much, Jake was finding it hard to breath. Then, all of a sudden, Jacob's world went red, a pulsating bright crimson color filled his gaze and he woke up.

***

Jacob's eyes fluttered open and at first he didn't know where he was, everything was blurry to him. The spot between his eyes still hurt, but the pain was slowly fading away. He didn't need to see clearly to understand that he was a mess. He was freezing cold and the spot he had landed in wasn't the greatest area to land on. He didn't move for a minute, he just let everything sink in. He finally concluded that basically, I'm alone in the woods, freezing cold and laying in what used to be my dinner. These kinds of things never happen to other kids, only me.

Almost directly after thinking this, he felt something. He hadn't noticed it before but now he definitely knew he felt another presence near him. The trees, Jake suddenly remembered, right before he had fainted he had seen the trees being pushed over. Whatever had pushed over those trees was now close to him. He could feel that something was wrong and that a great evil had found him. Jake stayed absolutely still he listened to the silence of the night. No trees rustled in the wind, no night Pokemon moved about, it was like the world had suddenly died. Jacob continued listening to the deathly silence, and then he heard it. 

Breathing. Something was breathing, and whatever it was, it was right by Jacob's head. He could feel hot air being blown softly against his cheek. Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. Jacob couldn't move, his body had frozen in fear, but one thought repeated itself over and over again in his mind. All you have to do right now is wake up, and somehow live through the next ordeal that will meet you when you open your eyes. All you have to do right now is wake up... somehow live through the next ordeal that will meet you when you open your eyes. Wake up.... live through the next ordeal that will meet you when you open your eyes. Live through the next ordeal that will meet you. Live. Live. Live. Jacob's mind whirled, his breathing came forced and it matched the breathing of the thing that was looming over him. Exhale, inhale, exhale.....

Finally, after many moments of just breathing, he was able to gather every ounce of courage that he could find in his young soul. He took a deep breath, and looked up. Any courage that had been inside of him, suddenly departed from his body. Too stunned and afraid to do anything else, he screamed. His scream left the clutches of his throat, piercing the deathly silence of the forest, it cut through the woods only to be lost after a short distance, and it reverberated off the trees, bouncing back to him, and Jacob could hear his own scream echoing in his ears. 

TO BE CONTINUED..........

  
  
  


A/N: I scare myself. Yeah, I know this is confusing, but just read it, hopefully what you know will soon come together. PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! I'm sorry I took so long to get this part up, but I was working on my other fic, Falling. Just PLEASE REVIEW! I only got two reviews for the last two chapters, You aren't being very encouraging! Thanks for the reviews Pikapal and Mewberries, you're the best! I'm sorry for crazy rambling. I also want to apologize for my use of the 'comma' in this chapter I get a little too happy with my commas. Long live the Commas! ,,,,,,,,,,,! OK, I'm sorry again. I should go to bed, I'm no longer making any sense at all. Thanks everyone! Oh yeah, and thank you Trish and Kasumi girl, I appreciate your reviews too! Bye and remember, PLEASE REVIEW! 

  
  
  
  



	15. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 15

  
  


A/N: No, I do not own Pokemon. Jacob's mine but that's it. If you haven't read the other Chapters, then don't read this one. It won't make sense. I worked really hard on this for a very long time. I'm sorry it took so long to put up, but at least it's two chapters instead of one. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! PLEASE!!! I am down on my knees here, PLESE MY LIFE DEPENDS ON REVIEWS!! Thank you! Now, here is the next part of Jacob's Story!

  
  


The Nightmares That Await Me

Jacob's scream soon died away into the forest, and all that remained was his forced breathing. Jacob couldn't explain what was in front of him. He wasn't even able to see very much of anything, until he threw himself backwards as a result of his terrified yelling. He had looked up, not seeing a horrible monster or some other nightmarish demon, instead he had found himself staring into a large pair of yellow eyes. The eyes stared at him unblinking, less then an inch away from his own. Had it been that close to him the whole time? Jacob was more then just quick to push himself away. He had hurdled his body backwards, in some wild effort to get back onto his feet, but his legs didn't seem to be aware of his urgency, and Jacob ended up falling onto his back. He barely let himself come in contact with the ground before he sat up and began furiously scooting himself back further. 

Now that he was not as close to the eyes, he could see the rest of it. The night was dark, but the full moon lit up the little clearing fairly well. The first thought that Jake had was that this thing was big. The creature was pitch black, and at first the only thing Jake could see were the eyes. Soon, he was able to make out the outline of shoulders and arms. The shoulders seemed to just form into a head, whatever it was, didn't seem to have much of a neck. 

Jacob's eyes traced the arms and saw that outlined on the ground, he could make out hands with fingers ending in sharp points. That is, if you could call them hands, they were misshapen and twisted looking and they seemed to be more like claws then hands. The creature's claws were planted firmly on the ground, one on each side of where Jacob's head had been. It was hard to see, but Jake could tell that something wasn't right, and it soon became clear why. The creature sort of shifted its' weight, and stood up. The thing had been crouching, what Jacob thought was big, now, had just doubled in size. 

It must have been as tall as any tree in that forest. Strangely, even though it was now standing upright, its' claws were almost brushing the ground. Jacob could now see long legs ending in twisted clawed feet. The next thing brought to Jacob's attention was the creature's torso. It seemed to have more sets of arms sprouting from its' chest. They were much smaller then the main arms, but Jake figured that these littler arms were all about as long as he was tall, maybe even longer. All these arms ended in nasty little clawed hands as well. Jacob suddenly saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, and he looked up toward the creature's head to see that it was bearing its' teeth. Each white tooth gleamed, looking sharper then any knife, and about as long as Jake's forearm. 

Jacob must have had a horrified expression on his face, because the next thing he knew, the creature began making an awful noise. It sounded like a loud, raspy, choking sound, but soon he realized that it was laughing at him. Nothing about this thing was right, it was some sort of nightmare that had gone completely and totally wrong. The thing's eyes reflected what was inside its' soul, it was pure evil. Full of hatred and the kind of bitterness only found at the bottom of a wicked man's heart.

Suddenly, it stopped it's raspy laughing, and began making a loud screeching kind of noise. Jumping, Jacob clapped his hands over his ears. The loud screeching noise continued until a tree fell near the far side of the clearing. Out from the shadows came another hideous creature. As soon as the thing stepped into the clearing, another one stepped out from behind the trees, then both of these creatures crouched down and stepped aside. There was a brief pause before another creature stepped out. Jacob thought that this one must be of some higher importance, because as soon as it set foot into the clearing, the other two crouched down farther and stepped back. This one was bigger then the others and its' eyes were a bright green. It looked at Jacob and narrowed its' eyes. The creature that Jacob had first come in contact with now looked at him with what just might have been a smile. It pointed at Jacob with one of his main arms and spoke. "Papoosshh," it hissed in a raspy voice, before crouching down and slinking backwards. 

The green-eyed thing began skulking toward Jacob quickly. Jake's heart had already been pounding severely, but now it was hammering in his chest like it might just break through his rib cage. The green-eyed one stopped abruptly in front of Jacob. It stared at him for a long time, narrowing his eyes more and more. Finally the creature shook it's head and spoke, "Sstuupid little boy," it hissed, glaring angrily at Jacob the whole time. Jacob just sat in silence, feeling like he wanted to just lie down and die right then and there. 

The other three creatures then slowly began crawling forward to take their places behind their leader. The green-eyed one spoke again in some language that Jacob didn't recognize, and then stared down at Jacob as if expecting an answer. Jacob said nothing, but sat perfectly still. This seemed to infuriate the leader and he made a hissing noise through his teeth. At that moment, one of the couching yellow-eyed ones stepped forward, but still remained as low as possible to the ground. "Why... do you... come out to meet uss? Do you ...wisshh to die, little papoossh?" With all of Jacob's courage, he shook his head, but said nothing. The leader seemed just more enraged by this, it made a swipe at the yellow-eyed speaking one, and then turned to Jacob. "Whether... or not you wisshh... to die. Your life endss here....."

  
  
  
  


Something Wicked This Way Comes

At that moment, Jacob wished he were back at the hospital. To him the hospital definitely seemed to be a better place to be. He wanted to run, but couldn't seem to get the message past his heart, which was telling him he was going to die and running was stupid. So, he just sat there, trying to keep his heart from popping out of his chest. The green-eyed thing stared at him for a long time, probably trying to decide what sort of death would best suit the child. The thing pointed to Jake and spoke up again in the awkward sounding language. Again, the yellow-eyed creature stepped forward, but this time it seemed weary of being struck and stepped sideways away from the leader.

It stared at Jacob fiercely before speaking up. "The one sayss you are problem. You have killed many of usss but we still greater then little papoosshhss' people. You coward for running all the way back here…jusst to hide." The thing paused for some time and in the midst of the silence Jacob spoke up without even really thinking about it, "I-I haven't killed anyone… I don't know- what do you mean all the way back here?" The green-eyed one made a hissing noise and the one translating snapped, "Ssilence! If you wisssh to live, sssilence!" Jacob had jumped and slapped his hands over his ears at the creatures' response. Its' voice reminded Jake of metal scraping metal. 

Jacob stared into the things eyes and realized that they had changed to a dark red. The red, however, didn't last; it faded to an orange and then back to yellow. When that happened, it continued the conversation. "Haven't killed? Are you not Jacob of Pallet? The very same who threatened our race months ago?" Jacob bit his lower lip, not sure how to respond. "I-I am f-from Pallet, b-but I don't remember what hap-happened a few months ago or any time ago. I-I can't remember anything up until a few weeks ago," Jacob said shakily. "You do not fool usss, we know what you are. It wasss you who blasssted the big rock, or do you not remember that, papoosshh?" The translator hissed angrily. 

Jacob began shaking his head, opening and closing his mouth, before finally asking, "How… how did you know about the boulder?" At this the translator laughed its' awful choking laugh, "We have been following papoosshh for a long time. We wanted to get you sssooner but we had to make ssure you were dangeroussss. Sssoo we made a tessst," The creature said grinning. Jacob furrowed his brow in confusion, but then realization hit him, "It… it was you? The boulder was a-a test?" Jacob squeaked. The creature sort of nodded, smiling with his long teeth. "You passsed the tesst. You are the one we wisshh to kill." This is when the green-eyed spoke up, "You will have the death of a true warrior…" and then the thing garbled on in its own language. And yellow-eyed translated, "You will fight with ussss and die, jussst as a killer fighter would want to die." 

Had Jacob not already been on the ground, he would have fallen. With all the questions to ask and things to say, all Jacob could squeak out was a, "why?" The translator's smile grew wider and it said, "Beacausse you are truly of legendss and are dangerousss to uss. Given the chance to grow, you could kill uss all, that iss why we have hunted for you sssoo." Jacob had no idea what any of that meant, nor any ideas how he was dangerous to anything. Before Jacob could think anymore, it spoke up again. "It isss now time." The green-eyed smiled and added to the translator's comment, "Now we fight papoosshh, you will meet the same fate as your other people." 

He was going to continue, but then something came crashing out of the woods, to Jacob's dismay he realized it was another monster thing, but this one was much smaller and Jacob realized that it might very well be a younger monster, like a child. It came right up to the leader and began chattering away in the nonsense language. The leader at first looked annoyed, but then quite happy with whatever the littler thing was saying. It let out a sharp laugh and then pointed to the woods and garbled an order and two of the yellow-eyed ones suddenly stood and ran out into the woods. The green-eyed looked back at Jake smiling, and rasped, "You have sstupid friendsss." 

At first Jake had no idea what it was talking about, but then the two monsters came rushing back, carrying something in their smaller arms. The yellow-eyed ones crawled before their leader and dumped their items. Then they backed up and went back to their places. The leader barked an order at the littler thing and it ran off again to the woods. Jacob stared at the forms on the ground before it hit him. 

One of those things was Jacob's Eevee and the other one was no one other then Ash. Jacob's heart stopped and he just looked worriedly at them. He was filled with relief when he saw they were both breathing. The green-eyes laughed and stared menacingly at the fainted forms. "Jacob, Jacob," it was the first time Jacob was referred to by name by the creatures, "You lie; sssay you have no memoriesss, but you lie. If I get rid of your friendsss, maybe you remember the fate of the others lost." It laughed and put out one of its' main arm. It put out its' hand and then with a quick jolt it's fingernails grew longer. It smiled evilly and began reaching its' hand towards Ash. "No!" Jacob shouted, quickly standing up, trying to get to Ash. The thing's claws hovered over Ash's head. One single claw brushed against Ash's cheek. "No?" the creature asked in disbelief, "No one saysss no to me, papoossh! When I kill him, hiss ssscream will remind you of the death of your loved onesss. Do you remember if your mother ssscreamed before sshhe was killed, probably trying to sssave you?" 

Jacob stood in shock at a lost for words. " My mother…" Jacob's voice gave out and the tears began to form. He clenched and unclenched his fists, "you don't know anything… you don't know my mom. You're lying!" Jacob yelled, the tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. The leader laughed, "Am I?" it asked nastily. Jacob let his head droop so he was staring at the ground. His shoulders began to shake with silent sobs. He clenched his fists tighter then ever and began shaking his head wildly. This caused more laughter from the monsters. "No," Jacob chanted softly under his breath, "no, no, no…" 

Suddenly Jacob's head snapped up, "Stop it! Just Stop IT!" The creatures stopped immediately and stared at him curiously. Jacob glared at the things, face streaked with tears and teeth clenched he whispered in an raspy hateful voice, "I will kill you for this…."

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED…….. 

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

  
  



	16. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 16

The Night Carries On

Jacob's threat hung in the air, and a moment of silence ensued. Jacob tightened his fists. His shoulders began to shake uncontrollably, however it wasn't out of fear, but out of anger. Almost like his body was reacting to his anger, he began to hiccup. This caused Green-eyes to laugh and his claws drifted from Ash's face. Soon all the creatures began to laugh and garble on to one another in their own language. 

Jake gritted his teeth, he could feel the anger building up, filling his heart, his mind. Everything seemed to blur up, all he could think of was how he hated these things and how much he wanted to get rid of them. These thoughts pounded chaotically in his head until he felt like he would burst. Just before he was sure he would explode, Ash coughed. The creatures stopped laughing abruptly and stared down at the boy. Ash groaned and moved his head slightly. Jacob's anger was quickly replaced with fearful concern. 

Jake quickly looked at Ash and then to the Green-eyes and back to Ash. "Ash…" Jacob whispered under his breath. Green-eyes smiled menacingly and began to reach forward with his clawed hand again. Without thinking, Jacob lurched forward and began to run to Ash, "Leave him alone!" He yelled. As soon as Jacob was within a foot of Ash Green-eyes snapped its' left arm forward and hammered Jacob right in the chest. Jacob was batted away like a fly and, before he knew what had happened, he had hit the ground quite a few feet away from Ash. He had hit so hard that the wind had been knocked out of him and he was having trouble getting up again. A great pain throbbed where the creature had struck him. 

A few feet away, Ash started to come around, unaware of the claws hovering above his face. Ash scrunched up his face and then his eyes slowly fluttered open. However, he quickly shut his eyes and let out a groan, "my head…" he muttered, coughing again. Ash reached up to feel his forehead, but stopped suddenly, sensing something was very wrong. By this time, Jacob had managed to regain some strength and he was struggling to stand up. Green-eyes had noticed this, and it quickly diverted its' attention from Ash and pointed its' clawed hand at Jacob. Jacob gathered his strength, took a deep breath, and yelled as loud as he could, "Ash! Run!" This was all Jacob could get out before the monster narrowed its' eyes and without moving, hit Jacob with an incredible force. An invisible wave of power shot from the monsters' claws and hit Jacob right on. 

Jake went flying backward, hit the ground with a thud and kept going. He was scraped a long the ground roughly, feeling a great pressure pushing him back. He could feel rocks being jammed into his back and cutting into his skin. The force pushed him along the ground. He had desperately reached out a hand to try and stop himself from skidding any farther, but only managed to slice open his palm on a sharp stone. He let out a sharp cry of pain, but it was lost in the crunching of the dead grass and weeds being quickly crushed beneath him. Finally he felt himself come to a stop and he began coughing in the cloud of dust he had created. 

Back to where Green-eyes had been standing, Ash hadn't started running. All Ash did was look up and see this awful creature looming over him. Ash had frozen, staring wide-eyed up at the monster. For the moment Green-eyes was ignoring him, much to into Jacobs' suffering then anything else. As Jake came to a stop, the creature quickly snapped its' attention back to Ash. It grinned at him, showing its' razor like teeth. "Run, run, run. I chassse you down later," the thing hissed. With that, it fixed its' eyes on Jake, stepped over Ash with clawed feet and began skulking toward the fallen child. Ash let out a slight yelp as it passed over him, but nothing more. The rest of the creatures followed their leader, hopping over Ash mockingly as they went.

The last yellow-eyed one to hop over Ash, made a quick turn and stared down at the boy, "Run, run, run away little one, we will hunt you later," it hissed with a grin. It then quickly turned and followed the others toward Jake. Ash watched them leave in disbelief. He quickly turned his head from side to side, trying to figure out where he was and just what was going on. Ash's gaze fell upon Eevee. Since Ash wasn't sure what was happening and was beginning to panic, he quickly crawled over to Eevee and tried to shake it awake. At a lost for words, Ash just continued shaking Eevee until, the little Pokemon finally came around. 

Eevee's eyes snapped open and, as quickly as it could, the Pokemon stood up on shaky legs. Eevee's ears perked up as it peered beyond Ash to his fallen trainer. "Eevee!" Eevee cried and brushing past Ash, the Pokemon ran for its' trainer. "Eevee, wait!" Ash choked out, but Eevee ignored Ash as it raced as quickly as it could to Jacob. Ash shakily tried to stand up. After a few tries he was able to get to his feet. Ash looked over at where the monsters were beginning to cluster, he would have to do something fast, but what?

***

Jacob felt the pain in his hand and knew that it must be a bad cut, but he couldn't bring himself to look at it. A sharp pain in his back informed him that his back had suffered some scrapes of its' own. Coughing, he struggled to sit up. Jacob was frightened, having no idea what would happen to him now, but beneath his fear, he could feel a deep hatred, anger so strong, that it frightened him more than the creatures themselves. However, with all of his worries, the first thought that came to him when he had managed to sit up was, Where's my backpack? I had it on before I passed out, but when I woke up… 

Jake heard the crunch of dead grass in front of him. Jacob snapped his attention forward to see Green-eyes looming over him. The creature smiled cruelly at the boy, "Papoosshh lossse sssomthing?" Jacob glared up at the creature, "Give me back my pack you creep!" Jacob yelled up at the monster. Green-eyes began his choking laughter again, and motioned to one of the yellow-eyes. This one came forward, putting out one of its' littler sets of arms to reveal Jacob's pack. The creature tossed it to Jake's feet. 

"For the brave warrior…" Green-eyes said, motioning to Jacob, laughing. Jake stared at the pack, his anger building. Laughter echoing in his ears, Jacob tightened his fists. "I'll show you," Jacob said through gritted teeth. Green-eyes stopped laughing abruptly and peered down at the small child threatening him. Its' face twisted into an evil grin as it put its' arm out so that its' hand was only a foot from the boy's face. "Your time isss up." The creatures' hand began to pulse with energy; while it remained unseen, Jacob could feel the energy moving past him and gathering into this things' hand. "Good bye, papoosshh…"

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED.............................

A/N: Finally finished with this chapter. Thank goodness. I apologize for any grammar mistakes made, I was really tired when I wrote this and I usually have someone proof read my stories before I put them up, but my proof reader just HAD to go get a life and get a job....-sigh- now he's too 'busy' to read anything. Yeah, right... more like lazy... anyway, I still don't own Pokemon, dang. 

Sorry this took so long to put up... I just got out of school like three days ago (Thank God) and I have to start summer school and get a job.... So I'm actually going to have a real life (totally against my will) and I won't really be writing much, dang. Please Review! I LOVE reviews... I NEED reviews. Any Flamers will gladly be handed over to Trish's Tassie Devils.... not that I have ever had a flame... and I don't want to have any, I like happy reviews. Thanks!


	17. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 17

A/N: Jacob's story is one year old today! It was one year ago that I published this story on fanfiction.net! I would like to give a special thanks to Pikapal and Mewberries for their reviews and support ever since the very beginning chapters of this series. As you all know I still do not own pokemon. Please Review! 

Warning: This is the one year special of Jacob's story! It is meant to be a chapter that will stick out among the others. I was told it's kind of sad…… On with the story!

  
  


A Light in the Dark

  
  


Jacob stood staring into the twisted hand, and he could almost see the energy forming into a ball. There was not time to move, it was too late. Suddenly, Jacob felt something slam into his side, and two arms wrap around him. The next thing Jake knew he was sent rolling in the dirt with his rescuer. The energy blast hit the ground with great force leaving a large gaping hole in the earth. 

Jacob choked on the cloud of dust that had formed, coughing he looked up to see Ash's eyes looking down at him. "You ok?" Ash asked, coughing as well. Jacob heard his Eevee whimper and he looked past Ash to see his Eevee staring at him worriedly. "Eevee," Jake whispered in a hushed voice, and then, "Tori? What are you doing?! You were supposed to run!" Jacob said sounding annoyed. Ash sat up, giving the child a bewildered look, "You wanted me to just leave you?" Jacob pushed himself away from Ash, "you don't understand Tori! You never did! This is all your fault!" Jacob hit Ash's arm with his fist, "All your fault," he repeated angrily. Ash shook his head, "my fault? How is it my fault?" 

Jacob's eyes began to tear up, "If it weren't for you I never would have ended up here! You never liked me! You never wanted me around, I was always in the way…" Jacob broke off and went to sobs, still trying to push himself away from Ash; but Ash held onto his arm. "Jake, you have never been in the way, maybe I didn't like you that much in the beginning… but that's all changed now, and to tell you the truth I like having you around." Jacob wiped his tears with his hand, and then looked into Ash's eyes. "If you liked having me around, then why did you leave me all alone? You left…" Jacob shook his head angrily and pulled his own hat off of his head, "And all you gave me was this stupid hat, and you just left me…" Jacob trailed off, tightening his grip on the worn-out item; tears poured down his cheeks.

Ash looked into Jacob's eyes with confusion, and he saw an immense pain there, then, something just seemed to click. "You're not talking about me are you?" Ash asked Jake quietly. Jake, however, only looked confused. "Jacob, you're not talking about me. You're talking about your dad… he's the one that gave you the hat…" Jacob just looked at Ash, and shook his head again, "You don't understand Tori, you don't understand…" 

Ash was about to ask what was it that he didn't understand, when they heard a loud clapping sound. They both looked to their right to see Green-eyes, smiling and clapping at them. "Well, done little warriors," the monster stepped forward, followed by the rest of the monsters. Jacob stood up shakily in front of Ash. Eevee quickly scrambled to be protectively in front of his trainer. 

The monster stared curiously at the boy's defensive stance. Jacob was either extremely brave or ridiculously stupid. Standing his ground, the small Eevee growled angrily at the creatures. Ash remained where he was, unsure of what to do next. Jacob stared hatefully at the creature. "Let Ash go," Jacob shouted, "I'm the one you want, not him, he's nothing to you." Green-eyes stared at the boy for a moment and then began to grin, "Asshh Ketchum of Pallet…meansss much to Papoossh. For thisss he will die…"

Jacob shook his head slowly, "don't touch him," Jake said through gritted teeth. "Jacob, don't…" Ash whispered behind him. The green-eyed monster began hissing through its' teeth and its eyes began to change from the well-known green to yellow and then to a deep red. The hissing became louder and louder, but Jacob didn't even flinch. Eevee took a few steps back towards Ash, while Ash was doing his best to stand up.

Soon all the creatures began the hissing noise and Jacob could feel his stomach clench up. It was the same feeling as before. He could feel it surround him, causing his legs to wobble. Just as Ash had managed to stand up, the feeling hit him as well. He hadn't been prepared for it and he quickly fell to his knees. Jacob was doing his best to stay standing, but it was becoming more and more difficult. Everything began to spin and colors began to blend together. Not again, Jake pleaded, please not again. 

Suddenly, Jacob felt a sharp pain on the side of his head and he was lying on the ground. He had become disoriented and it took him a moment to realize that he had been struck down by one of the creatures. He tried to turn his head to look to see if Ash was still ok, but this just caused him to become dizzy. Everything blurred, he thought for sure that he would blackout again, but then he heard a sharp yelp close by him. He forced him self to stay conscious as he felt something land with a loud bone crunching thud near his face. Through blurry eyes he could make out the form of his Eevee. It whimpered softly at Jake, staring at him with eyes that seemed apologetic. Not far away he heard something that sounded like another yelp, which was followed by a soft thud. 

Blinking, Jacob tried to clear his head. Seeing his Eevee, he reached forward, gently laying his hand on the small Pokemon's side. "Eevee..." Jacob whispered under his breath. The small Eevee whimpered a soft reply. Jacob didn't need to be told that Eevee was hurting, he was able to focus his eyes just enough to see into Eevee's eyes. In those small eyes, Jacob was able to see all that he needed to, and so much more. "Eevee…" Jacob whispered again, "I'm so sorry…" Jacob said, choking on the words, "please be ok… please…" Jake continued. Concern for his best friend over powered the feeling that had taken over Jake just moments before. He no longer felt dizzy or sick; he could only feel a deep sadness within him. "Eevee…"

Jacob reached forward with both arms, bringing the small pokemon closer to him. "You have to be ok… you have to be," Jacob's eyes became blurry with tears, "I'm so sorry Eevee… please stay with me. I can't do this without you. You're my best friend…" Jacob's voice cracked, as the tears flowed down his cheeks. The small Pokemon continued looking at his trainer with sadness and whimpered softly to him. Eevee's eyes became dull as he began laboring for each breath. Jacob gently stroked the side of Eevee's head. "Eevee, I'm sorry… I promised to protect you. I broke my promise… I broke my promise… Eevee I am so sorry. Please stay…" Jacob trailed off, seeing Eevee's eyes slowly beginning to close as his best friend took one last breath. 

"Eevee…" Jacob's hands began shaking as he brought Eevee within an inch of his face. "D-don't leave…" With that Jacob began sobbing harder than ever, he put his cheek against Eevee's face. "Please Eevee…" For one moment, nothing in the world mattered. Everything was shadowed in darkness, except for a sobbing trainer and his loyal Pokemon. The boy made little sense, crying and pleading for the return of his Eevee's life. 

In the darkness, Jacob could feel a light upon him. It shone brightly over him, and soon the child could feel energy surge into him. With this energy came a new feeling of anger, hatred slowly began to fill his mind. Those creatures had gone too far, and he had had enough. The light faded and the new energy filled his heart. He opened his eyes to see he was still in the same clearing, his Eevee in front of him and Ash thrown to the side. However, these things didn't matter, he saw the cause of his problems. Those monsters looming over him waiting to see what he would do next. They had played with him for long enough. Jacob stared into the eyes of the monstrosities as his anger reached a point where it could be no longer contained. 

Suddenly the monsters stepped back; and Jacob could see the fear in their eyes. In the dark of the night, something illuminated the monsters faces. The bright light filled the clearing, casting its' glow over the body of the fallen Eevee and Ash, who was not far away and lying perfectly still. The light grew brighter as Jacob began screaming. As he screamed he felt the energy leaving him in a rush. It was overpowering, even for him. He felt his mind losing its' grip on reality and everything went black. 

**

…Dearest Jacob… life will always hurt, no matter what you do. Pain and suffering is a part of life, now you must learn to deal with it… and step up to meet your destiny… reach for the power inside your soul, for you have a marvelous gift… now it is time for you to rest my Prince of Hope… rest now, and know that you have done a good job… for now…

TO BE CONTINUED………………………………

  
  


PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank You!


	18. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 18

A/N: I don't own Pokemon, poor me, poor me. 

Before you read, please remember that the last we saw Misty was in the hospital and Jacob threw his Eevee at her, remember? Remember? You don''t? Shoot, it was like…… six chapters ago or something. If anyone has any questions, put them in the review. Oops, I almost forgot; Ash, Tracey and Pikachu were at a nearby Pokemon center when Jacob made his escape from the hospital. I seemed to have failed to mention that in previous chapters. 

  
  
  
  


The Promise of the Rising Sun

Misty opened her eyes to find another set of eyes peering straight down at her. She reached up to feel her throbbing forehead. "Are you alright?" asked the voice above her. She blinked to clear her vision, and saw Tracey staring down at her (A/N: Scary). She saw a little yellow fuzz ball on her other side and assumed that it was Pikachu. She started to sit up, but decided against when the pain in her head worsened. Tracey, noticing her sudden decision to remain where she was, began mumbling about her taking it easy. As her head began to clear more, she realized she wasn't sure where she was or what was going on. 

Above her, Misty could see trees outlining an early morning sky and she soon became aware of pine needles beneath her. She knew that this could not have been a good thing, but her mind seemed fogged over. "Er… What happened?" She finally said after drawing the conclusion that her memory failed her. Tracey paused, giving her a confused and concerned look, before finally answering, "You hit your head," Misty waited for more, but he said nothing else. 

She noticed that Tracey looked rather nervous, and he was holding a rather disgruntled Togepy in one arm. Circles under his eyes told her he was tired, but what caught her attention were the numerous scrapes and cuts on his shaking hands. "Are you alright?" Misty asked, causing him to jump at the sound of her voice. He sat Togepy down by her side and took a deep breath, "I thought you… I didn't know if you'd wake up, you've been out for a long time," Tracey said quietly. Misty began to sit up again, very slowly this time. 

She glanced down at Pikachu and then to Togepy, "What are we doing out here?" she asked rubbing her eyes. Tracey didn't answer her, so Misty tried to piece everything together on her own. The first thought that came to her mind was that Jacob was gone, and soon, more thoughts floated into her mind. After losing Jacob in the hospital corridor, she had gone back to tell Ash and Tracey that the child had run off. In a frenzy they had left the poke center and come out here to look for him…But she couldn't remember anything that happened while searching the forest.

After a very long pause, Tracey began to answer her. It came so suddenly that Misty had jumped a bit. "We were looking for Jacob. Pikachu and Eevee started acting strange…" Tracey stopped again; he seemed to be shaken up a great deal. Running a trembling hand through his hair, he continued, "There was something wrong… Ash, he doubled over… and then there was something there…" Tracey said, pointing to a gap in the trees. 

"It was dark, I couldn't really see, but it was some sort of creature. I-it jumped and it was in the trees. I couldn't see it… it was so dark. The next thing I knew, Ash yelled and there was this… thud, the next thing I knew you were sort of… thrown… to the side. The last thing I remember was this sudden pain in my side. When I woke up, I was in those bushes over there, and I…" Tracey took a needed gasp of air. He brushed his fingers over the cuts on his hands, as if it was supposed to explain something. 

Tracey suddenly let out a hollow laugh, which sounded more like he was choking then expressing amusement. Tracey shifted his gaze upward, "just my luck they were thorn bushes," he said, in a manner that made him appear to be chatting with the sky rather then to Misty. That was when Misty decided it would be best to get out of the forest as soon as possible. They needed to find Jacob and Ash as soon as possible, for it was clear that the night in the forest was taking its' effect not only on Tracey, but on the Pokemon as well. Pikachu and Togepy both looked exhausted and nervous. 

With Togepy in her arms, Misty slowly began to stand up. She looked down at Tracey, who seemed to have not even noticed that she had stood up. She leaned over and gently shook his shoulder, bringing him out of his trance. "Tracey are you ok?" Misty asked, holding out her hand to help him up. Tracey nodded, accepting her hand. "Are you sure you're alright?" Misty asked Tracey, once he had stood up. He nodded again, but said nothing. 

Not needing any instructions, Pikachu set off into the forest following his ears and nose for any sign of Ash or Jacob. Misty and Tracey followed Pikachu deeper into the forest, not knowing what to expect, not knowing that a pair of eyes were closely watching each step they took. 

***

Nothing. That's what greeted Ash. There was no mystical ball of light floating in front of him; there was only a vast emptiness. He thought of nothing and felt nothing. His mind seemed to be fogged over. There were no questions of what had happened or where he was, and there weren't any answers. All he had was this moment, and in this one moment there were no questions to be answered. Had he stayed there forever he wouldn't have known or cared.

Suddenly, Ash felt like he was being jerked forward, and, as his mind began to clear; he heard a voice calling out to him. At first it sounded quite distant, but soon the words grew louder and became clearer to him. 

"Ash… Ash… Ash." Someone was calling his name. Ash could feel the presence of people around him, but they seemed so far away. He tried concentrating on the voices around him, but as soon as he did he felt a sharp pain in his head. He didn't like where he was, there was pain and hurt here. However, to go back to nothingness, it didn't seem possible. He couldn't ignore this voice he was hearing, this quiet, pleading voice that echoed over and over in his head. 

Slowly the voice became clearer and Ash felt like a light was being shined down onto him. It grew brighter and in a flash, Ash saw a scene develop before him. It was a vision of a small boy sitting on the edge of a river. This boy appeared to be crying, though it was hard to tell, because nothing moved or made noise in this scene, it was like Ash was staring at a three dimensional picture. The image slowly faded and the pain in Ash's forehead grew sharper then before, he was being pushed back to consciousness, whether he liked it or not.

  
  


***

Misty kneeled by Ash's side, calling his name over and over again. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she wouldn't let them. She wanted to shake Ash, but wasn't sure if she would hurt him or not. As far as she could tell, the only injury he had was a cut on his forehead near his hairline. Tracey sat on the other side of Ash, gazing off into space. Togepy had settled itself down next to Misty. 

They had found Ash in the middle of what looked like a crater. When they found it, Tracey said something about it looking like a bomb had gone off. No sooner had the words tumbled out of his mouth that Misty had spotted Ash. He hadn't looked alive when she had first seen him, and that was the thought that haunted Misty. Ash was breathing, but he wouldn't wake up, no matter how hard she called or pleaded, Ash's eyes would not open. 

Tracey didn't seem to realize the importance of the situation; once he could see Ash was breathing he had started wandering around the crater. When he returned to Ash's side he was carrying two things: A worn out hat and backpack. Even though the pack looked like it had been put through something awful, Misty recognized these items as Jacob's. Taking them from Tracey with shaking hands, she wondered what it meant. Ideas of death seemed to flood her mind, but she pushed those thoughts away. The backpack and hat meant only that Jacob was nearby. She carefully ignored the fact that the backpack looked like it had been partly blown up and placed it gently down on the ground. 

Pikachu had placed himself by Ash's side and hadn't budged since. Pikachu nuzzled Ash's arm, uttering soft 'Pikapi's'. Tracey seemed out of it, he kept spacing out and shaking his head. For the moment Misty pushed everything out of her head. She concentrated on the rise and fall of Ash's chest and her own voice. She focused only on Ash's face, as if she could force his eyes to open. Before she knew it, the tears that had threatened her before, finally spilled over. She hastily wiped them away; she knew crying would only make the situation worse. 

She took a deep breath trying to regain her composure, and then she heard it, a soft cough. She looked down to see Ash blinking up at her. "Ash?" Misty asked in disbelief. She couldn't believe he was finally awake. "PikaPi!" Pikachu shouted happily hugging his trainer. "Pikachu," Ash said in a hoarse voice. He coughed again, louder this time. The concern on Misty's face grew, and out of all the things she could of said at that moment, she found herself only able to mumble another soft, "Ash." Ash's gaze wandered to her as he coughed again. "Hey Misty," Ash whispered hoarsely. "Ash…" Misty trailed off. Tracey seemed to have come back to reality, "hey Ash, you really had us worried," Tracey said. 

Ash shut his eyes and tilted his head to one side, "sorry," he mumbled before coughing again. Misty's eyes fell on the pack at her side and another fear quickly arose. "Ash, where's Jacob?" Misty asked with concern. Ash's eyes remained shut; he looked like he was drifting off to sleep. "Ash, do you know where he is?" Misty tried again. Ash opened his eyes, squinting up at the sky, "river." Ash whispered softly. Tracey looked curiously at Ash, "river? What river?" Tracey asked. Ash's eyes rolled around as if he was looking for something, before his gaze finally met Misty's. "River," Ash repeated, "Jacob is at… river," Ash began coughing again, more violently this time. 

"Where? Ash, Where?" Misty asked. Ash shut his eyes again briefly, "behind you. In the forest… there's a river," Ash said, struggling with each word. Ash shut his eyes and began coughing again. Misty brushed Ash's forehead with her hand, please don't let him have a fever, Misty thought taking a deep breath. Ash's forehead felt strangely warm. One thing at a time, I just need to take this one thing at a time. Misty slowly stood up, "Tracey? Can you keep an eye on him and watch Togepy for me?" Tracey nodded, picking up the small egg Pokemon. "Where are you going Misty?" Tracey asked. "To find Jacob," she answered. With one last helpless look at Ash, Misty turned and headed into the woods. 

***

Misty hadn't been walking through the forest very long when she heard the sound of a river. She quickened her pace through the woods. The sound of rushing water grew louder as she continued. She finally reached a break in the trees and saw the river before her. It wasn't very wide, but it had a swift current that could easily knock someone off there feet. 

Misty looked up and down the river for any sign of Jacob. To her relief, further down the river she could just make out a small form of a boy. Knowing that this must be Jacob, Misty began jogging towards him, careful not to trip on any rocks that were becoming more numerous, as she made her way down the river edge. She called out to Jacob, but he didn't move. He was sitting on a large rock with his arms wrapped around his knees. 

When Misty was within a few feet of him, she called his name again, but he still didn't move. Now that she was closer, Misty could see that he was shaking and dripping wet from head to toe. Misty slowly climbed onto the rock, never letting her eyes wander from Jacob. She sat herself down right next to Jacob and waited to see if he would look up. After a moment of silence she said his name and gently put her hand on his soaked back. 

Jacob winced slightly and finally lifted his head up. His gaze shifted slowly to Misty and she could see that Jacob had been crying. For a moment Jacob just stared at Misty, and she got a strange feeling as if he was staring right through her. His hair was plastered to his forehead with water. Droplets of water mixed with tears dripped off his face. 

Misty felt a need to break the strange silence, "Jacob, How… er… Why are you soaking wet?" Jacob blinked and sniffled. He slowly turned his head and looked at the river then back at Misty. Jacob then continued staring at her as if she had said nothing. Misty took a different attempt at the question, "Did you fall in the river?" She asked. Again, Jacob said nothing and looked back at the river. 

After a moment of staring at the river, Jacob looked up at the sky. He coughed and sniffled again, "I'm not going to cry anymore, I'm really not," Jacob said quietly. Misty looked at him with surprise. Jacob quickly turned toward her, "It was an accident," he declared suddenly. "What?" Misty asked, "Jacob, What was are you talking about?" Jacob shook his head as his eyes began to tear up again. "I slipped, it was an accident," he said, choking on the words. "It's ok Jacob, I don't care if you fell in the water. I'm just happy you're ok," Misty said, putting her hand on the small boy's shoulder. Jacob started to shake his head wildly, "no, you don't understand, I lost Eevee!" 

Jacob looked like he would start bawling any minute, but the tears never came. Confused but concerned, Misty asked, "Where did you lose him Jacob?" Jacob looked back at the river, "I slipped," he repeated. Misty's eyes widened, "in the river? You lost Eevee in the river?" Jacob took a deep breath and looked across the river to the bank on the other side. Misty hadn't noticed it at first, but the adjacent bank was covered in flowers and it was actually very beautiful. A blank look came over Jacob's face and he looked as if his mind was a million miles away. "I saw the flowers," Jacob started softly, "Eevee loved flowers. I thought that Eevee would like to be left there." Jacob scrunched up his brow, "But when I tried to cross the river… the rock… it moved… I fell in and… and I dropped Eevee." Jacob clenched his hands into fists. 

Not a single fresh tear made it's way down Jacob's face, but each word had to be forced. "Eevee died trying to protect me, and I couldn't even bury him right," Jacob said, his voice becoming suddenly angry. "Jacob…" Misty started, "Jacob? What happened to Eevee?" She asked. "He's … gone… my best friend is gone. I never could do anything right," Jacob said shaking his head, "everyone would be happy if I had never been born." Misty bit her lower lip, "That isn't true Jacob…I think… I think everyone is happy to know you." 

Jacob whirled his head around quickly and gave Misty a cold stare, "Eevee isn't," he said curtly. "Jacob…" Misty put her hand on his shoulder again. Jacob flinched under her touch, "I'm happy to know you Jacob," She said, feeling like she would soon cry if this kept up. Jacob's face softened and he took a deep breath, "Thank you Misty," he said softly. Misty furrowed her brow, "You called me Misty…" she said in bewilderment. Jacob blinked, "That's your name, why shouldn't I call you Misty?" Misty couldn't believe it, she had always been Okaasan to Jacob, but now he was acting like he didn't know what she was talking about.

Jacob shifted uncomfortably under Misty's hand. "You're hurting me Misty," Jacob said quietly bringing her out of her thoughts. Misty couldn't believe she was hurting him and withdrew her hand. Jacob sighed and resumed staring off into space. Misty was about to suggest leaving when something caught her eye. She wasn't sure at first, but when she took another look at her hand she realized it was smeared with blood. She stared at her hand in disbelief and then quickly looked to Jacob. Misty hadn't realized it at first, but Jacob's shirt was torn in many places. Through the holes of his shirt she could see he had several bleeding cuts. "Jacob…" Misty said in disbelief, "What happened to your back?" Jacob's face twitched slightly, "Is it… bad?" Jacob asked worriedly.

"It looks awful, doesn't it hurt?" Misty asked worriedly. Jacob stayed quiet for a minute and then slowly answered, "no, no, the water was really cold… it felt kind of numb but… but this is starting to hurt," at these last words Jacob raised his hand up. Misty's eyes widened when she spotted a large gash on Jacob palm. "Wh-what happened?" she stammered. Misty didn't wait for an answer; "I need to get you back to the hospital." Jacob straightened up at her words. "I don't want to go back," Jacob reached forward with his good hand and grabbed Misty's wrist, "please, don't take me back to the hospital. I can't go back there, please Misty, please?" Jacob said in desperation. Misty didn't know what to say, "But Jacob your cuts need to be taken care of…" 

Jacob shook his head wildly; "No, no, no," he suddenly fell forward and hugged Misty as tightly as he could. "Please Misty, take me anywhere, just not back there," Jacob said with his face buried in Misty's shirt. Misty sat, undecided in what to do. Jacob's shoulders began to shake and Misty could tell he was crying again. "Ok Jacob, I won't take you back to the hospital," Misty said laying her hand on the child's wet hair. Jacob let out a sigh of relief, "Promise, Misty? Promise?" Misty bent forward, letting her cheek rest on her hand, "yes, I promise Jacob." Jacob sighed again, "Misty?" Jacob asked. "Yes Jacob?" Misty said. "Will you stay with me forever?" Misty's answer came with hesitation, "Yes Jacob." 

"Promise, Misty? Promise?" Misty took a deep breath, "Yes Jacob. I promise." 

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED……

  


A/N: I would like to apologize for any grammar mistakes I made. I usually have my Brother read it before I post the chapters, But he couldn't. I'm sorry this took so long to write I had major writer's block. I rushed the last part a bit because I was just getting tired of this chapter and I wanted to move on. PLEASE REVIEW!! PLEASE REVIEW! I don't care if it's just a little review, I LOVE reviews! I live for reviews! PLEASE!! By the way, Thanks to MistyMermaid for her great review. Please review! If I don''t get reviews I will be sad…… so sad, so very sad. I'm sorry this chapter wasn't really exciting, but please review anyway! PLEASE? PLEASE? PRETTY PLEASE? I'll give you a doughnut……. Please? By the way, I am also sorry I made Tracey seem crazy…… it wasn't entirely on purpose:

Tracey: (Hugs a tree) TREE!

Ash: Uh, Tracey?

Misty: What are you doing?

Tracey: It feels all rough and hurty. 

0_o? Anyway, I don''t know where that came from, LOL. Yeah I do, MWAHAHAHA. Ok I''ve had too much sugar, Bye people!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!

  
  
  
  



	19. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 19

A Reality Shadowed by Doubt

  
  


Misty slept deeply despite the daily activities going on right outside of their room. Once our group of weary travelers had reached the Pokemon center, gotten cleaned up and bandaged they were all ready to go to sleep. Ash was running a fever and just wanted to go to bed, Tracey was on the verge of losing it (seemingly being the only one who had been conscious for almost the entire awful night), Misty was tired of trying to understand anything that had happened, Pikachu and Togepy were both very unhappy and Jacob was strangely quiet. Jacob had every right to be upset, considering what had happened to Eevee. What had worried Misty was the fact that he seemed to be angry at Ash. No one else had noticed, but Jacob had been giving Ash angry glares ever since they had all met up again. 

To add to all the present problems, Jacob seemed to be getting sick as well. Misty had done her best with bandaging his back and hand. Jacob never spoke or even grimaced when Misty cleaned his cuts, all he did was cough every now and then. Jacob had gone to sleep with no true explanation of what had happened in the woods the night before. Misty had asked him if he knew anything about it, but Jacob only answered her with a quick 'no' and an attitude that seemed to warn her not to dare to pry any further. Ash had seemed to come to the conclusion that the things in the woods were some kind of evil Pokemon. What else could they have been? 

They had all decided to sleep for a while and then wake up later in the day when they were able to think more clearly about everything. After checking to see if Jacob had a fever, Misty climbed into one of the top bunks. Once she was sure Jacob, Ash, and Tracey were all sleeping peacefully, Misty let herself drift off to sleep and that was how she stayed for a long time. 

***

Misty opened her eyes and squinted at the sunshine drifting through the window. She wasn't sure what had woken her and decided to just go back to sleep. She sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come. How strange. She thought she heard someone singing a lullaby. Misty slowly opened her eyes, realizing that the lullaby she was hearing was one that she had sung to Jacob the very first night they had met. She could hear each word clearly…

"Goodnight my angel now it's time to dream,

And dream how wonderful your life will be…"

…It sounded so sad and so…close? Misty jerked her head to the side to examine the room around her. She let out a short gasp when her eyes fell upon Jacob's bunk on the other side of the room. There was Jacob, just as he should have been on the bottom bunk, but there was a women sitting on the bed's edge. She was wearing a dark lavender cloak over a lavender gown. She had long black hair that framed her pale face. In one hand she held a great white staff with a purple gem at the top and her other hand was placed intently on Jacob's forehead. From her lips came the soft lullaby, filling the room with the melody. This woman was definitely there, but Misty could see through her, like she was a ghost. 

The woman ended her lullaby and sat perfectly still, staring at Jacob. Though the woman didn't seem to be hurting Jacob, he writhed like he was in pain. Traces of old tears stained his cheeks as new ones formed in the corners of his eyes. 

Without realizing what she was doing, Misty sat up in her bed; this got the strange woman's attention. The woman looked up to reveal a pair of cold metallic eyes. Misty froze, expecting something to happen, but the woman just stared at her for sometime, and then slowly looked at Jacob. To Misty's amazement, the woman smiled and said in a voice above a whisper, "The Child must be protected, time itself depends on it." There was a pause, but nothing more came from the woman's lips, instead, the woman faded away and a blanket of darkness swept through Misty.

***

Misty woke with a start. She drew in a deep breath, feeling like she was suffocating. She sat up in bed rubbing her eyes. It felt like it was around noon, but she still felt tired from the night before. Subconsciously, she turned her head to check on Jacob. Misty let out a short gasp. Jacob was not in his bed. Not only was Jacob missing, but his blankets and sheets had been striped from the mattress, leaving the bed totally bare. Misty quickly scrambled out of her top bunk, falling more than walking down the ladder. She let out a shrill cry as her feet hit the floor, and nearly lost her balance. If that didn't wake up Ash and Tracey, her high-pitched yells for Jacob did. 

Misty had slapped down both hands on Jacob's bed as if she was hoping it was some illusion. "Jacob?!" she cried shrilly, looking from side to side. "Misty? What's going on?" came the sleep deprived voice of a sick Ash from the top bunk. Misty stammered in disbelief, "J-Jacob's gone!" Ash shot up as quickly as he could, "He-he's what?!" Ash scrambled to the edge of his mattress and peered over the side at the mattress below him. "What happened to him?" He asked. Misty began looking around the room frantically, " I don't know. He didn't run off, his backpack is still here." Tracey had woken up, but remained silent, unsure of how he could help this situation. 

Pikachu climbed down from Ash's bunk, and plopped down onto Jacob's bare mattress. While Misty began frenetically searching the room, Pikachu perked his ears as if listening to something very far away. Tracey was trying so hard to get Misty to calm down; they didn't notice Pikachu was trying to get their attention. "What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu hopped off the bed onto the floor. "Pika Pikapi!" Pikachu stated pointing underneath the bed. Pikachu had finally gotten Misty's attention. She madly scrambled over to the bed and kneeled down to look under it. 

At first it just looked like a bundle of blankets and sheets, however when given a closer look it was possible to see a tuft of brown hair sticking out at the top of the bundle. Misty reached in and tugged at the blankets. "Jacob?" she asked under her breath. The child did not move. For an instant, she thought he might not be breathing. "Jacob!" Misty said more loudly this time, giving him a good shove to make him wake up. Jacob coughed and withdrew deeper into the blankets. Misty reached as far as she could and began trying to pull him out. 

Despite her best efforts, Misty could not pull Jacob out; she just kept coming up with more blankets and sheets. As she thinned out the layers of covers she realized why she was having trouble pulling Jacob out. The small boy was facing away from her and he had a death grip on one of legs of the bed. Misty grabbed him by the waist and pulled as hard as she could. "Jake…" she said through gritted teeth, "…come on." To Misty's surprise, Jake suddenly began screaming. Misty quickly let him go and let him pull himself further under the bed. The screaming soon quieted and instead turned into loud terrified whimpers. 

Tracey and Ash had been watching with curiosity until Jake had started screaming causing both of them to cover their ears. Misty turned to them, "help me!" she pleaded. Ash climbed down from his bunk as Tracey kneeled down by her side. All three of them peered under the bed. After a quick observation, Tracey was first to come up with a plan. "OK, I'm going to try and pry his fingers off the bed's leg. Ash, grab his legs and Misty, you grab his arms as soon as I pry off his fingers. Misty and Ash both nodded. Tracey began pulling at Jacob's fingers. Jake began wailing as soon as Tracey started his plan. Through his wails Misty was able to catch words. He seemed to be babbling, but she was able to decipher the words 'no,' 'stop,' and 'Eevee.' 

It took some time, but soon Tracey was able to break Jacob's hold. Once that was done, Jake's screaming increased. With a great amount of effort and pain (Much to Ash's dismay Jacob had started kicking) they were almost able to pull Jacob from under the bed completely when he suddenly reached up with his bandaged hand and took hold of the wooden bed frame. Surprised, Misty looked down at Jacob's face to find that his eyes were closed as if he was still somehow sleeping. 

Tracey tried to pry his fingers off, but the bandage started to come off and the pressure Jacob was putting on his hand was causing the cut to bleed again. "Jacob let go!" Misty demanded unable to hide the worry in her voice. Blood was beginning to seep through the bandage. "Please Jacob! Let go!" Misty pleaded grabbing the young boy's arm. Jacob however, struggled against Misty as if she was trying to harm him. Ash had stopped trying to grab Jacob's legs when one of his kicks met with Ash's face. Ash was busy concentrating on his now swollen lower lip. Tracey hovered over the situation unsure of what to do. Pikachu was scurrying back in forth unable to help. Togepy was left on Misty's bunk crying in frustration.

A droplet of blood slowly began making it's way down Jacob's arm leaving a faint trail. Seeing that the situation was only getting worse, Misty desperately tried to loosen Jacob's grip. She glanced at the child, whose eyes were still closed despite the trauma around him. "Jacob! Wake up!" Misty said as she lifted up Jacob's head with her free hand. "Jacob, Please," Misty said on the verge of tears. 

Suddenly, Jacob's eyes fluttered open. He immediately released his grasp on the bed frame and withdrew his hand. Upon seeing his hand, Jacob wrinkled up his forehead and began making a choking noise that sounded like he was either going to start sobbing or gagging. Not sure of what to do Misty gently began rocking Jacob and trying to comfort him. She gently took his injured hand away form his frightened eyes. She leaned forward so all of his attention would be on her and not his bleeding hand. "You're ok, Jacob, you're ok," Misty whispered softly. Jacob let out a soft whimper as Misty turned to Tracey and asked him to bring her new bandages. 

As soon as she was given the bandages, Misty set to work re-bandaging Jacob's hand. She tried to do it carefully so she would not hurt him, but he wouldn't sit still and he kept trying to squirm free. Once he was all bandaged up he stayed in Misty arms. Tracey put the sheets back on Jake's bed while Ash sat holding a cold washcloth on his lip. Misty rocked Jacob back in forth still comforting him. By touching his forehead she discovered he had a fever. His eyes began drooping as he started to fall back to sleep. "Misty?" he asked quietly. Misty looked down at him, "Yes?" Jacob coughed and shut his eyes, "I think I've been having bad dreams." With that Jacob sighed and fell into a light sleep. 

Misty gently put him back into his bed and covered him up. "Misty?" Ash asked quietly. Misty didn't seem to hear him as she walked quickly to the bathroom that was connected to their room. Ash could hear Misty turning on the sink faucet; he slowly stood up walked to the bathroom doorway. Misty was scrubbing her hands under the running water, washing off the traces of blood left from bandaging Jacob's wound. "Misty?" Ash asked again, still holding a cold washcloth to his lip. 

Misty didn't answer, with shaking hands she reached for the bar of soap. Unable to get a good grip the soap slipped from her grasp and onto the floor. Misty sunk to the floor but made no move for the soap. "Misty?" Ash asked again. He took a few steps and lowered himself down beside her, "Misty? What's wrong Misty?" her eyes had suddenly filled with tears as she looked down at her shaking hands. "Everything, everything's wrong," Misty choked out, bringing up her knees and wrapping her arms around them. "What do you mean?" Ash inquired. "It's just not right…" Misty said softly, "He isn't right." Ash looked at her with confusion. "Who? Who's not right?" Misty sniffled, "Ever since we found him things have been going wrong. We always get ourselves into trouble, but not like this. Jacob… is… he… he's just not right." Ash shook his head, "I don't understand." Misty rubbed her eyes, "Jacob isn't… normal." Ash tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean? Not normal?" Misty shook her head, "I don't know. He always has nightmares… it's just not right," Misty's tears finally spilled over at the end of her sentence. At a loss for words Ash sat quietly for a moment. Misty's sobs got a bit louder and, not knowing what else to do, Ash slowly put his arm around her.

Misty turned burying her face into Ash's shoulder. "I just don't know. Those things in the forest almost killed him. I can't keep him safe forever. He's not just an ordinary kid. I can see it in his eyes; he's in pain. I just don't know what to do anymore." Misty sobs grew louder but Ash remained silent, not knowing of anything that he could do besides staying where he was. 

TO BE CONTINUED……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

  
  
  


A/N: Sorry for making you all wait for so long. I had trouble writing this part, I guess I wasn't sure of exactly what I wanted to do. Well, Please Review. Does anyone have any problems with the story so far? I was talking to my brother (AwesomeOnix) and he said that he had a problem with the fact that Team Rocket hasn't shown up recently. So does anyone else want to see Team Rocket? If so, let me know and I can work them in here somehow. Thanks! Please Review! 

  
  



	20. Pokemon: Jacob's Story Part 20

Chosen Child

The next few hours were a bit of a blur. At some point Ash and Misty had left the bathroom, Tracey had decided to go for a walk, and Jacob slept on. Presently, Misty was sitting on the edge of Jacob's bed in deep thought, and Ash had gone back to bed still feeling feverish. Jacob stirred in his sleep every now and then. Ash also was tossing in his sleep. Misty sat, her mind still not at ease after Jacob's last fit. A fit, that's what it was. Misty sighed deeply as she watched Jacob sleep. I wish I could understand you. I wish so hard, with all my heart even, that I could just understand. Misty felt herself overcome with a sleepiness she could not fight or resist. 

  
  


***

It was a strange world that Ash found himself in. It was cold and the floor looked as if it was made of glass. There was mist all around him. It was absolutely silent and Ash felt cold from the inside out. The mist soon began thickening around him. It choked him and Ash began gasping for air. Ash began to run, trying to get out of the smothering mist. As he ran, he heard a voice. It sounded like someone was singing. Squinting through the mist, Ash could see a figure on the ground. "Hello?" Ash coughed. There was no answer. He grew closer to the figure until he was almost standing above it. 

There lay Jacob, curled up in a tight ball, tears streaming down his face and apparently sleeping. The singing was growing softer and sounded more distant. "Jacob?" Ash asked hesitantly, nudging him with his foot. Ash stooped down, "Hey Jacob, wake up." Jake didn't move. Not good, Ash thought. Suddenly Ash heard footsteps coming towards him. They were growing louder and Ash could see a figure moving toward him in the mist. "Who's there?" Ash called through the mist. 

Soon Ash could make out a familiar figure. Breaking through the fog was Misty. Ash sighed in relief at the arrival of his friend. "Ash?" Misty's eyes darted down at Jacob and back to Ash, "What's going on?" Ash shrugged, "I don't know." Misty kneeled down next to Jacob, "where are we?" Ash shrugged again, "I don't know, I thought I was dreaming, but…" The sudden sound of more footsteps cut Ash off. These were very soft and slow. Ash and Misty looked around but couldn't see anything through the mist. The footsteps slowly grew louder, but no one appeared. "Hello?" Ash called softly into the fog. The footsteps stopped and Ash felt as if they were being carefully watched. 

For a moment no one made a sound. The strange silence made Ash's heart race. Suddenly Jacob coughed, startling both Misty and Ash. They both looked at the boy who stirred slightly in his sleep. "So you have finally come." Ash and Misty both jumped, jerking their heads up to see a woman standing less than two feet away. She had dark black hair. She wore a dark purple cape over a similarly colored gown. In one hand she held a white staff with a large gem at the top. Ash and Misty both stared in shock at the women. The women stared at Ash for a time, piercing him with her metallic eyes. Then she smiled, "Welcome, Little Wanderer," she said to Ash. She then turned to Misty, "I see you have come as well, Little Untrusting One." Misty looked confused. The woman's gaze shifted to the sleeping Jacob and she stared at him as if she was in a trance. "All that has ever happened has come to this point. This is when the mice are shown the maze, when the children are given all the pieces to the puzzle… when the Little Ones are given their answers." She glanced slowly to Ash and then Misty. 

Misty was first to break the silence, "Who are you?" The woman smiled.

"I am Kasmira Atalaya Asta, Guardian of this realm's past, present and future." This raised more questions than it answered. Seeing Ash and Misty's confused expressions, she continued, "I will more fully explain. I am one of eleven guardians of the universe. We protect the past, present and future as we see fit. The guardians were formed so long ago that no one bears witness to their creation." Here the woman sighed as if she carried a weight that was too heavy. "Having much power and no purpose, the eleven of us took it upon ourselves to watch over different parts of the universe. I was given this section where your planet now presides. So I am now here, fulfilling my responsibility." 

It was too much. Ash was staring with his mouth open, "What?" he gasped, not even allowing himself time to think it over. The woman or 'Kasmira,' as she said she was called, gave Ash a penetrating stare and for a moment it seemed that something along the lines of sympathy was hidden there. "I have come to give you a warning Little Wanderer, and to tell you Jacob's story." 

"What about him?" Misty asked suddenly, feeling her protectiveness for Jake take over. Kasmira's gaze stayed transfixed on Ash, but she answered Misty. "The child must be protected. The youth of the future must be protected, the future and present depends on it. The darkness will descend upon this world and all will be lost to the darkness within. He is the one whose eyes reflect pure hope and innocence. The one with the old soul and new face. He knows no name of his ancestors. Only the name given to him by his keepers." 

Kasmira was now staring accusingly at Misty. "Many nights ago, I appeared to you with this message, but you did not see. Instead you were blinded by your own doubt and fear, never letting your mind know what your heart had already figured out. The boy I speak of is Jacob, Prince of Hope, but you would not allow yourself to believe. Isn't that right Little Untrusting One?" Misty found herself unable to answer while under the strange woman's gaze. Kasmira finally took her gaze from Misty and gave a more sympathetic look to Ash. 

"I shall explain Jacob to you Little Wanderer. He is not from this time, he is a youth of the future and he holds a great power. One thousand years ago, the guardians felt a terrible evil coming upon this world. It was my duty to protect this realm so I calculated when the darkness would come. I wished to protect this planet, as I have become very fond of its inhabitants, but my power does not directly exist in the physical world. I am only able to exist in the state I am in now, a world that is much like a dream. My powers can only be used though an actual living being. The Guardians decided that I should send a large amount of my power one thousand years into the future. By using this power, a chosen person could fight back against the evil and save this world." 

Kasmira stopped and motioned towards Jake. "He was chosen to be the carrier of this power. I needed a pure, innocent soul, one that was not only full of love, but courage and hope. That is why Jacob was chosen." Kasmira looked sadly at Ash, " I would have chosen you but…" she paused as if trying to say the words as gently as possible, "when the darkness arrived you would have been too old to have the innocence of a child that is needed to carry this power."

Ash didn't know what to make of this. He had never imagined anything like this happening and even now he was thinking it was a dream. This couldn't be right, could it? "If Jacob is from the future, then why is he here?" Ash asked trying to take everything in. 

"When I sent the power into the future I made it so that it would go to the one I had chosen. However, somehow the power split in half and while one part went to Jacob, another part went into another being that held the same qualifications needed to carry the power. This other being was in a different time period. Thus Jacob only received half the power he was supposed to and it was unable to fully awaken when he needed it most."

Sadness came over Kasmira's eyes and she bowed her head. "When the power was left dormant the darkness covered the world and all living things were thrown into chaos. Most life was taken or destroyed, but some things lived on and an underground force was formed to fight the chaos. These people lived in war, but some tried to lead normal lives, raise their families, go to work and just live on. The population was never able to grow however, those who had families were hunted down and taken to their doom." Kasmira kneeled down closer to Jacob. "A child Jacob's age is a rare thing to see in his time. Young children are the most hunted and coveted by the evil forces. The Nazuk, the dark warriors of the evil forces, found out Jacob and he was fiercely hunted down by them. As a last resort his loved one sent him into what was hoped to be a brighter future."

"Why did they send him here? I thought you said this was his past?" Misty asked. Kasmira glared at Misty, causing her to wish she hadn't said anything at all. 

"Sometimes things do not turn out the way you hope them to. When Jacob was being sent through time, the power inside him stirred and, sensing it's other half, it pulled him here to this time. He was to be joined with the other half of his power. However, when you three travelers took him in, there was a conflict. The two powers, though the same in origin, could not unite. The powers had become a part of those who carried them and they would not join without the carriers fully knowing of them. Jacob used to know of his power, but now he condemns it and refuses to acknowledge that he has any power at all. When Jacob is awake he claims to know nothing of his past, but when he dreams he remembers everything. That is why he wakes up in fear, for his memories have all flooded back to him at once. While he is awake he refuses to believe any of it, he refuses so much that he creates his own memory block. He will not even allow himself to remember his full name." 

She then looked at Misty, "I tried to reach you, I tried to tell you, but the untrusting of your mind creates a mist that will not let me through." She paused and glanced at Ash, "I apologize Little Wanderer, for some of your dreams have been filled with glances of Jacob's memories." Kasmira paused and shook her head slowly, "The future is not a good place for the gentle hearts of young children to dwell.

"The Nazuk have picked up Jacob's energy, they have come from the future to retrieve Jacob. You have seen them already, horribly large, dark creatures that prefer to hunt at night. I am here as a last resort. Jacob must embrace his past and join with the other half of his power that is residing in the second carrier. The two carriers just need to have faith in each other or else the union can never be made. If feelings of contention are too strong then the energy will become corrupt and turn dark inside of Jacob." She paused for a while here, "However, the second carrier must be informed that he carries this power." Kasmira shifted her gaze to Ash and smiled, "Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet, are you ready to find out what slumbers within you?" 

TO BE CONTINUED………………………………..

  


AN: Anyone confused? If so Review and tell me, I will be more than happy to put some flashbacks in the next part. Thanks to my reviewers and as always Please Review!

  
  



	21. Jacob's Story Part 21

A/N: I am SORRY this took SOOO LOOONG I had a mental block the size of an elephant. I don't know how to feel about the end result. Anyway, Jacob's Story turned 2 years old about a month ago. It's been a long time. If you don't remember what happened in the last chapter, please go back and look it over. THANK YOU. Please Review.

  
  


The Day the World was Given Hope

Hearing Kasmira's words, Ash stopped breathing and Misty let out a sharp gasp. For a moment Ash thought his heart had stopped. However, through his surprise, Ash felt something else creep into his mind. As strange as it was, Ash felt as if he finally was beginning to understand. Kasmira smiled knowingly at Ash, "Somewhere, deep inside, you have known of this for a long time. Something that you couldn't explain, that forever was driving you forward. Without knowing, you searched, following your instincts and dreams. In your short life you have accomplished many things…great things… things that could not have been done without the light you have within." Kasmira quickly glanced at Misty before continuing, "you have carried this with you your entire life and you have drawn many others to your light. So many have taken notice of the glow you carry. You carry the energy of an innocent and as long as you hold it you are able to look at the world as a small child sees it… full of dreams waiting to be taken. If I am to take this power away from you I am afraid you will find it difficult to continue your journey so easily. You will have many more doubts than you have ever had. You will not see the world with the light you do now." 

Ash found himself staring intently at his hands. He had never thought that he had carried anything important and yet it somehow made sense. Something inside told him it was true. Fear suddenly started to fight its way into his mind. If he had carried this energy for his whole journey, would taking it away change him? Would he be able to accomplish his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master? 

Ash brought his gaze up to find that Kasmira was staring at him as if she was reading his mind. Her cold eyes saw through him and she knew what he felt. To Ash's surprise, she smiled sympathetically at him, "It will be difficult, but not impossible Ash Ketchum," the smile faded as she continued, "As imperative as it is that you transfer your power, I feel I am obligated to answer your questions and tell you Jacob's story to the best of my ability. So that you may better understand the need for the powers to be reunited." 

Misty opened her mouth as if to ask something but Kasmira cut her off. "All your questions will be answered in time, but first let me explain a few things about Jacob…I will start with the nicknames he has given to you. Tori, Okaasan and all the other names are nicknames of people that he cared about from his past. Jacob does not use these nicknames when he remembers his past. If you notice, he calls you by your real names sometimes and other times he refuses his past and calls you by the nicknames.

The next thing you should know is that Jacob is five years old… not four as he originally told you. He is only very small for his age. He was the happiest he had ever been when he was four and I believe that is why he told you he was only four. There were also many other things he said when he first met you that aren't true. He told you that his father gave him an Eevee… that is only what he wanted to believe himself and he also mentioned other family members that, quite frankly, don't exist. 

Also, Jacob was not taught by anyone how to speak different languages. Before he could talk he listened to the world around him and he was able to understand many languages and today he still uses a few of them. Jacob told you that he was from Pallet town. However, in his world Pallet town is very different and his home's full name is Pallet Town Base. It is a small underground military settlement located directly under the original Pallet Town. The people there design fighter planes that can be flown out of tunnels in nearby mountains. The planes run on batteries that have been charged by electrical Pokemon. There are few Pokemon left in his time and Jacob's small family was valued because his father owned a Pikachu." Kasmira paused and took a deep breath. She gazed at Ash with a deep sympathy and shook her head before continuing. 

"I am sincerely sorry to say that in Jacob's world there is no Pokemon League, most Pokemon have been destroyed along with their trainers. Pokemon gyms, battles and competitions are no longer thought of. Much has changed indeed. 

When the Nazuk first came to this world, Jacob was not yet born. Many cities fell and many people died in the first attacks against this world. The Nazuk live off the energy of living things and they particularly harvest the life energy of children. One child can sustain a whole army of Nazuk for a long period of time. That is why young children are so rare. It is said that once the Nazuk see a child, they will never stop hunting that one child until he is theirs. The only child to escape the dark shadows for so long is sleeping before you. Jacob encountered the Nazuk when he was a baby and yet he still lives; he brings hope to all those around him because he has not yet been killed. That is why I call him the Prince of Hope, because he is the hope of the future." 

Kasmira leaned down and carefully picked up Jacob. Jacob automatically shifted himself so he could be cradled in her arms. After gazing at Jake's sleeping form for a moment, Kasmira shifted her gaze slowly to Ash. "You should know, Little Wanderer, that Jacob's full name is Jacob Ashton Ketchum." 

Misty jumped and quickly looked to Ash and then Jacob in disbelief. Ash's breath caught and his heart skipped a few beats. However, Ash's surprise didn't last long. He had finally been given the largest piece of the puzzle and it made sense. Somehow he felt like it was the only right answer there was. A strange choking sound brought Ash out of his thoughts. Ash looked at Misty to find she was trying to say something but she looked to frightened to say anything. Ash soon realized why. Kasmira had locked Misty's gaze with a stern glare. Kasmira seemed to be daring Misty to comment on the new information she had just heard. Misty bit her lower lip and took a deep breath. 

"I'm sorry, but I need to know; am I in Jacob's past…er… our future?" Misty hadn't known how to word her question and she ended up rushing it. Kasmira studied Misty for a moment and then in a cold voice she answered, "You are not the one Jacob calls Okaasan in his past life. You never see Jacob in your future." Misty looked down at the ground and didn't look up. Ash looked at her with concern, he knew how much she cared for Jacob and he didn't like the way the news had affected her. Misty looked as if she was trying hard not to cry. Ash wanted to say something but Kasmira cut him off. 

"It is time, please now close your eyes and I will show you Jacob's story. Once you are relaxed I will be able to directly show you the memories of Jacob along with the memories of a few of his close acquaintances so that you may be showed the entire story of Jacob. I will speak to you when the memories fail to provide accurate information. Close your eyes." 

Ash watched as Misty slowly shut her eyes and then he closed his own. After this was done Kasmira continued to speak. "Once the memories are being transmitted you can not stop them until they are done being shown to you. DO not try to break through; it will only make things difficult. I am doing this because I feel that after everything that's happened you both have a right to know who Jacob really is. Now please relax and let me show you your future."

Ash found it quite difficult to relax, but he tried his best and very slowly he felt as if he was somewhere else. He could see only darkness but he soon could here voices. Whispers all around him. Many people were talking at once and in the jumble of words he could here Pikachu and Eevee. He soon realized that, even though he didn't recognize the voices, they all seemed to be talking to Jacob. They were whispering his name and Ash soon became aware of Jacob's voice as well. He could hear Jacob laughing, crying and yelling at the same time. It was confusing but soon Ash felt that he was being pulled into the voices and he no longer felt like he was in one place. A blurry scene developed and Ash was no longer able to think about anything but what was going on before him. The scene took over and soon it was the only thing that mattered. 

  
  


~~~

  
  


A man walked down a hallway lit with flickering lights. In the distance a deep rumbling could be heard. Debris and dirt covered the floor. Suddenly there was a not to far off explosion that shook the passage and he was thrown to the ground. With a buzz the lights went completely out. The man swore as he struggled to get to his feet in the dark. After a brief moment the lights flickered back on. The man stayed still leaning against the wall. His breathing was heavy as if he had been running for a very long time. Sweat and dirt covered his features. He was something of a soldier, dressed in a gray uniform and black boots. He was in his late teen years to early twenties and he had messy black hair and dark eyes. In one hand the man half carried, half dragged a large silver gun. 

When the man caught his breath he stumbled forward into a feeble jog. He continued down the hallway, looking left and right in the dim light. He stopped suddenly and turned down another hallway. Towards the end of the hallway a man had just walked out of a door. The man had spiky hair and was in his twenties. In his arms he carried something wrapped in a blanket. He turned to see the man coming down the hallway and he glared at him. 

"Ash! Where in hell have you been the past two days?!" Ash came to a stop in front of him and motioned to his gun. 

"Looking you for you in the middle of it. The message said you'd be in the East wing." The man shook his head.

"The East wing has been destroyed. We had to move." Another explosion went off and they both stumbled as the lights went out again. A cry pierced the darkness and the bundle was brought to the attention of the Ash. 

"Brock… Is that…?" Brock nodded and held up the bundled baby so Ash could have a better look. "Damn lights keep going, I can barely see anything." Ash peered closely at the bundle, letting a weak smile form across his face. The lights buzzed back on again, lighting up the face of a crying baby. 

"This is your son Ash." Brock said with a tired smile of his own. Ash gently placed his hand on the blankets. Slowly the baby stopped crying.

"It's boy?"

"Yes."

"He's so small…"

"Well, he's a little early."

"When did…?"

"Early this morning; right before the third artillery wave was sent in." 

Ash shook his head in disbelief saying to himself, "My son…my son…" over and over again. With a quick shake Ash brought himself out of his trance. He suddenly determinedly looked up at Brock. 

"Where is she?" Brock's smile faded and he quickly looked away from Ash. "Brock? What's happened? Where is she? Where's my wife?" Brock cleared his throat and took a deep breath, "There were… complications. Ash… I … All the doctors have gone... they evacuated this morning…I…can't… there is nothing we can do for her." Ash slowly took a step back. 

"What are you saying?" Ash asked shaking his head in disbelief. "Brock?" Brock stared determinedly at the floor and said nothing. "Brock…? What are you saying?" Ash said, gnashing his teeth as distraught tears began to form in his eyes. Brock only shook his head, refusing to say anymore. Ash took a deep breath, "Where is she?" he asked with a hollow sounding voice. Brock looked at the door he had just came out of, but he said nothing. With a quick glare at Brock, Ash ran through the door. 

The room was practically empty except for a small table covered in blankets and a hospital bed. In the bed lay a young woman. Though she was sleeping she still looked tired and weak. Ash stood very still watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed softly. Brock came in quietly behind him and sat the baby down on the table in the blankets. Ash was so lost in thought that he didn't even hear when Brock began to speak. 

"She passed out after the delivery, she hasn't even been conscious long enough to see or hold the baby. Ash…" Brock paused and watched the younger man with concern, "Ash, she… she…won't…" Brock stopped and looked down at the table. 

Ash slowly walked to the bedside and stopped. Ash paused for a long time staring hard at the woman's sleeping form. 

"Please go Brock." Ash said softly, not taking his eyes from the woman's face. Brock looked as if he was going to disagree but Ash cut him off. "Get out of here, before our side retreats entirely and you are trapped." Brock looked over at the table and moved his hand toward the sleeping baby. "Don't!" Ash said sharply, "leave him with me." Brock opened his mouth to protest, but Ash cut him off, "Leave him and go…now!" Brock glared at Ash but he soon turned and walked out of the room without looking back. 

Ash dropped his gun to the floor and slowly leaned down to take the woman's hand in his own. He took a deep breath as he brushed her hair out of her face. 

"Hey there…" He said in a whisper. "I'm sorry I'm so late. You know me…can't do anything without messing it up in some way." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry… You hear that? I'm sorry…" Ash's voice cracked and his tears slowly began to slide down his cheeks. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you… I'm sorry about putting you in danger over and over again…and I'm sorry about all the times I argued with you… but please, god, don't leave me. I still need you." Ash kissed the woman's forehead and whispered in her ear. "I love you Misty." Misty's eyes suddenly fluttered open and then she closed them. Ash had seen the movement from the corner of his eye. "Misty?!" Her eyes opened and she blinked to focus on Ash's face. 

"Ash…" She whispered, "the …baby." Ash squeezed her hand gently.

"He's fine, Misty." Misty nodded and shut her eyes. 

"I'm glad… please take him… take him away from here… promise..."

"I promise Misty…I…I promise." Misty then smiled weakly. 

"Now …there will be hope…" Misty's breathing was then stilled and the room went quiet. Ash carefully put his arm behind Misty and held her to him feeling the last warmth of her body. "Misty…" Ash choked, "Misty I… I can't do this alone… don't leave me alone here." Ash stroked Misty's cheek, "Misty…?" 

The room soon began to darken and the last sounds heard were Ash's cries of sorrow to the dark world consuming him. 

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED...........

  
  


PLEASE REVIEW

  
  



	22. Jacob's Story Part 22

The Gift of a Name

His footsteps sounded noisily as Ash Ketchum walked through the halls of the deserted building. In one arm he carried the newly born baby and with the other he dragged his gun along beside him. His expression showed no emotion. He simply stared blankly, letting his feet take him to his destination. The baby didn't make a sound as he slept cradled in Ash's arm. 

As Ash turned a corner a faint light fell upon him and he focused his eyes on the exit of the building. There waiting patiently in the doorway was a rather worn out looking Pikachu. The Pikachu was holding an old red hat in his paws. "Pikapi!" the Pikachu called out upon seeing Ash. The Pikachu ran up to Ash with the hat in his mouth. When Pikachu reached Ash, he held up the hat triumphantly and said "Pika Pikachu!" (I found it!) Ash slowly reached down and took the hat and Pikachu scurried up his arm and onto his shoulder. "Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed upon seeing the baby. 

Ash remained silent and clipped his hat to one of his belt loops. Then he set off down the hallway and toward the exit. Outside the building the sun was clouded over with dark clouds that made the scene even more dismal. The surrounding buildings had been severely damaged by the battle. With the buildings reduced to rubble, the city had been destroyed. "Pewter City…" Ash said softly as he surveyed the area, straining to see through the dust filled air. Silence surrounded them, nothing else moved, nothing else lived. "It's over… we lost." Ash said shaking his head. Ash slowly began making his way through the debris. He walked for sometime when suddenly he heard what sounded like footsteps. Loud footsteps of something large were heading his way. 

Ash stopped and quickly crouched behind the nearest chunk of debris. Ash carefully sat the sleeping baby at his feet and peered out from behind the rubble. At first there was nothing, but very slowly Ash was able to make out a large dark form moving toward him through the clouds of dust. Ash propped his gun up so it was pointing at the form. Ash waited as another creature slowly appeared beside the first one. Pikachu growled from Ash's shoulder. 

A small cry at Ash's feet suddenly caught his attention. The tiny baby scrunched up his face and began crying. To Ash's dismay the soft crying quickly turned to loud wailing. Pikachu leapt down and tried to comfort the small being, but it was too late. Ash saw the creatures eagerly lumber towards where Ash was hiding. The prospect of finding a living human baby caused them to hurry through the debris in what appeared to be a deranged form of excitement. Ash flipped a switch on his gun causing it to emit a low buzzing noise. 

Gripping the gun in both hands Ash leapt from behind the rock. Before the monsters' surprise could even register Ash began firing. Ash's gun was the newest in product in warfare. Having only been developed in the past few months it was one of the first of its kind. It was the only gum capable of taking down a Nazuk. The Pulsebeam 001, it was capable of firing small beams over a long distance. When shot over a long distance the beams pulsed in midair before hitting its targets. When shot at a short distance a loud buzzing was emitted from the gun. 

The loud buzzing of his gun echoed through the deserted city. There was an outburst of high-pitched metallic like screeching. The high-pitched noise stopped abruptly giving way to the continuous humming of the gun. Ash stood before the fallen monsters scanning the clouded horizon. The baby's cries were becoming louder still, but Ash was no longer hearing him. He was listening for more sounds of footsteps. There was nothing he could see, but he felt something close. 

"PIKA!" Pikachu suddenly cried out. Ash turned to see a large black monster before him. It was as tall as a tree with long arms ended in claw-like hands, which almost brushed the ground. Its legs ended in twisted clawed feet and from its torso sprouted smaller sets of arms, which also ended in nasty little claws. The shoulders forgot about the neck and just formed into a head. It was a yellow-eyed Nazuk. 

It hadn't bothered to look at Ash; it was too interested in the small bundle it was holding in its clawed hand. The baby continued wailing as his captor inspected it. The creature then twisted its face into what must have been a smile. Its knife-like teeth shined brightly. Pikachu was between Ash and the Nazuk, unable to let out an electric attack because of the probability of hurting the infant. Ash stared in disbelief at the scene before him. The Nazuk then turned and began to leave. After some choking sounds, Ash was able to find his voice.

"Hey!" Ash yelled, running in front of the Nazuk. "Give that back!" Ash skid to a stop in front of the monster. Had Ash been in his normal state of mind he would have been very frightened by the creature towering over him. However, Ash was too upset to realize the danger he was in. The Nazuk stopped in surprise at seeing Ash stand up to him. Ash raised his gun so that it was pointed at the Nazuk's head. In response to this the Nazuk smiled and raised his hand so the baby was in Ash's aim. The monster then made some strange garbled noises. Ash stayed as still as possible, he didn't understand the Nazuk speech. The Nazuk paused looking Ash over carefully and then very slowly it said, "Sssss…Who…sssss…who …ssss?" 

Ash answered without hesitation. "I am Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet!" Something about this must have been very funny, because the Nazuk let out an awful noise, which could almost pass for laughing. 

"Ssstupid…ssss…Pallet…ssss…gone…ssss…desssstroyed." The thing paused, as it looked Ash up and down, "Assshh Ketchum…sssss…" The Nazuk held up the still crying baby. "Ketchum…sssss…infant… ssssss?" 

"Yeah, Ketchum infant… it's mine. Now give him back or I'll take him from you!" The Nazuk laughed again and began tightening his grip on the baby. The cries became louder as the Nazuk's claws squeezed. "Ssss…try…" 

Ash aimed for one of the monster's legs. However, as soon as he did the baby stopped crying. Ash looked up to find the Nazuk looking oddly at his son. The Nazuk then started hissing loudly. A glow shown from the Nazuk's clawed hand. It let out a piercing yell before abruptly flinging the bundle away. 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ash screamed. He pulled the trigger of his gun. The Nazuk fell forward, unable to stand do to a great pain in his hand and the sudden loss of one of his legs. Ash then went running to where his son had been thrown. Scrambling over broken rocks Ash found the bundle gently wedged between two rocks. He prepared himself for the worse as he reached and gently pulled his son out of the hole he was thrown into. Ash gasped when he realized that there wasn't a scratch on the baby. As a matter of fact the infant was sleeping soundly. Ash shook his head, how could it be? And was his baby…glowing? Sure enough a very gentle glow surrounded the infant. 

"Pika!" Pikachu said appearing at Ash's shoulder and seeing the baby was ok. What had just happened overjoyed Ash and deeply scared him. What just occurred couldn't have happened. His son should be dead. It wasn't luck and it wasn't a miracle, for Ash had stopped believing in both of these things sometime ago. His son wasn't normal. Ash looked at the fallen Nazuk. It was still alive, but far from getting up and putting him in danger. So, holding the baby tightly to him, Ash ran. He ran until he was out of the ruined city. Not thinking about where he was going, Ash ran past a broken sign that read 'Welcome to Pewter City' and into the forest. He disappeared into the darkness. The dark clouds above him burst and rain poured down. It drenched the broken streets and buildings. It beat down upon the destroyed homes and yards. The day Pewter was lost it rained. 

***

Nothing could be seen through the dark forest. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of rain hitting the trees. By the trunk of a large tree sat a man. He had his knees pulled up in an attempt to keep his precious burden dry. A Pikachu and a small baby bundled in a blanket. The tree offered little protection from the downpour of rain and Ash was thoroughly soaked. The baby cried weakly having not been fed for quite some time. Ash held the little one tightly trying to keep him as warm as possible. 

A time passed and the rain didn't stop. Ash looked closely at his son. The baby's crying had settled to a soft whimpering. Something had to be done, or they would both waste away in the cold forest. Ash slowly got up and began walking. His direction was uncertain; all he knew was that he needed to find someplace warm. 

***

A new morning dawned as the rain finally stopped. All night Ash had walked, but he found no shelter. As the day began Ash continued his way, stumbling through brush and trees. He trudged along unaware of his surroundings. He had fallen into a state of shock, the significance of what had happened to him finally catching up to him. In a way of dealing with everything he retreated into himself, ignoring the things around him. Though Pikachu tried to speak to him he did not listen, though his child cried he did not hear. 

It was because of his mental state that he did not notice when he stepped into a clearing. In the clearing was a small group of cabins, built closely together. A small boy around the age of three was playing outside his home when he saw the stranger stumble out of the forest. He took one look at Ash and ran inside screaming for his mother. Ash stopped and swayed on his feet. The world darkened around Ash as his legs gave way beneath him. 

***

Ash awoke to find a blurry face staring down at him. He could hear two people talking about him as he tried to focus his vision. 

"…he waking up?"

"I'm not sure, he's been out for over a day."

"What do you think happened to him Jess?"

"I don't know James."

"Do you think he was caught in a battle?"

"Maybe…"

Ash shut his eyes and let sleep take him again. It hurt too much to think about the voices or what was going on around him. 

***

In a dark room of a cabin the former Team Rocket member Jessie was carefully cradling a small crying baby. 

"Come on little twerp, quiet down before I tell your father what a brat you're being," Jessie said in a soft voice. A small boy with dark blue hair walked into the room rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

"Mamma? Why is the man's baby so loud?" The little boy inquired. Just then James wandered into the room also rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Jessie? Why is Ash's baby so loud?" He then looked down at the small boy beside him. "Shouldn't you be in bed, Justin?" Justin nodded sleepily but didn't move. Instead he looked at the crying baby in his mother's arms and looked as if he was thinking very hard about something. 

"Mamma? What do we call the baby?" Jessie was in no mood for conversation at two o'clock in the morning. "Mamma?" the child asked when his mother didn't answer, "Does the baby have a name?" Jessie thought about this for a moment. She really didn't know, she had been referring to the baby as 'little twerp' and she had no idea if the infant had a name. 

"No, he doesn't have a name." Jessie said flatly, "call him whatever you want." Justin thought hard for a minute but then proudly said, "Pikachu!" James looked curiously at his child. "Why do you say that, Justin?"

"Well… the man came with a Pikachu and the baby, so we can call him Pikachu."

This didn't really make sense, but it was two in the morning and Jessie wasn't trying to understand. James smiled gently at his son. 

"We should give him a person name." Soon a new discussion of names arose and all three of them had different ideas of what the child should be called. 

"How about Brandon?"

"No, what about Samuel?"

"Squirtle!"

"Justin, we're only saying people names…"

"Oh…"

"How about Alex?"

"No, that doesn't suit him. How about Elijah?"

"Definitely not. How about Gunther?"

"N- what?"

"I read it in a book."

"Weedle!"

"…Justin…"

"How about Jack?"

"Hmmmm… Hey, how about Jacob?"

"Jacob?"

"It fits him perfectly."

"Jacob it is then."

The small baby had fallen asleep during the discussion of his name and he was now sleeping peacefully. Jessie sat the baby gently down in an old crib. "Good-night then… Jacob." The three then turned and quietly left the room. In the quiet room Jacob slept, unaware that he had just been given the name he would carry for the rest of his life. 

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED….

  
  


This chapter is dedicated to my proof reader/brother Brandon and my two little brothers Samuel and Alex. I love you guys!

This chapter was so hard to write... I felt so guilty destroying Ash's life. Somehow though, I got through it. Thanks a lot everyone. Please Review! 


	23. Jacob's StoryPart 23

Home for Now

A loud crying broke the silence of the early morning. The sky was just beginning to brighten as the sun was preparing to rise. In the small cabin a disgruntled Jessie was carrying a screaming baby Jacob through the hall. She arrived in the kitchen where James was falling asleep over the stove, apparently attempting to warm a bottle of milk. Both former members of Team Rocket were sleep deprived which was why Jessie didn't notice Meowth right away. Meowth was sitting at a small kitchen table looking through a stack of papers. Jessie regarded him sleepily. 

"Meowth? What? I thought… I thought you weren't going to be back from Pewter for another week." Meowth looked up from the papers and stared at Jessie and the crying baby for a moment. James swayed on his feet, almost falling over. He caught himself and straightened up. With a heavy sigh James looked at Jessie. 

"Meowth says Pewter's gone Jess," he said softly. Jessie shifted uncomfortably and only let out a soft, "Oh, I see." Meowth cleared his throat

"Da fightin' was already goin' on when I got to Pewter. I went in with da clean up team to pick up da news report and da list," Meowth said referring to the stack of papers on the table. 

"So I'm guessing you didn't stop by the Pewter market." Jessie said sighing as she took a bottle that James had handed her. Meowth shook his head. 

"We gotta keep up with the news, don't we?" he said. Jessie shook her head.

"It's pointless, why do we need a list of dead people we don't even know?" Jessie said giving baby Jacob his bottle and finally making him be quiet. 

"It's more useful den ya think Jess," Meowth said shifting through the papers.

"How's that?" Jessie said through a yawn as she sat down at the table. 

"Well," Meowth started, "James says dat dat's the twerp's baby, right?"

"That's what we think."

"Well, take a look," Meowth said as he pushed a paper in her direction, "eighteenth name down on da list." Shifting Jacob and the bottle, Jessie took the list and scrutinized it; she didn't know why she should care. At the top of the list it read: CONFIRMED MISSING. Jessie quickly scanned down to the eighteenth name... Jason Gil… Robert Hughes… Scott Ibarra… Ash Ketchum… Ash Ketchum? Jessie looked up at Meowth in surprise. Before she could say anything, however, Meowth pushed another paper towards her. "Now look, forty-second name down." 

At the top of this paper it read: CONFIRMED DECEASED. She scanned down to the forty-second name… Luke Hodges…Kim Johnson… Louis Jones… Misty Ketchum… Jessie looked up at Meowth and back at the paper. She carefully put down the paper and took a deep breath. James had wandered over and was now looking at the paper for himself. 

"Misty? The twerp's Misty?" James asked, furrowing his brow at the list, "Well… I guess that explains a lot." Jessie let out an exasperated sigh. 

"What do you mean 'that explains a lot?' It doesn't explain what happened or how, it just says she's… deceased." Jessie said, adding the last part slowly. Meowth looked up from his papers. 

"Well, it explains why da twerp was acting like he'd lost it. He's traumatized or somethin'. He probably won't come back," Meowth said reshuffling his papers. Jessie straightened up at Meowth's words. 

"What do you mean he won't be back?" 

James quickly answered Jessie before Meowth could. "Well you see Jess… When Meowth got in this morning, the twerp…er… Ash was standing in the living room staring at the wall. It was… scary. Meowth woke me up and asked me what was going on. I didn't want to wake you since you had been up with the baby. So… it was eerie and he wasn't answering to Meowth or me. Then he just turned, walked out the door and left."

Jessie stared in disbelief at James, "You let him…leave? How…Why?" 

Meowth then cut in, "Like I said, he's lost it."

"What about Pikachu?" Jessie asked. She hadn't seen the rodent anywhere and she didn't understand why he would let his trainer leave like that. Meowth waved his paw in the air.

"I tried askin' Pikachu what was goin' on, but he was confused too. He said somethin' about Ash going through a 'tough time.' Pikachu tried talkin to Ash but dat didn't work either." 

"Why didn't you stop him? Bring him back?" Jessie said glaring angrily at James. James put his hands up in defense. "It wasn't that easy. We thought he was just going for a walk, we didn't know he would leave!"

"Well you shouldn't have let him go at all!"

"What was I supposed to do?"

"Anything!" Jessie's last yell caused Jacob to start crying again. Jessie stood up from her chair and looked at the baby with frustration. "What are we supposed to do now? We can't take care of his baby forever! It's his! He can't just leave it here!" 

"Maybe he'll come back for Jacob," James said softly. 

"What if he doesn't come back? Meowth said it himself, the twerp's lost it." Jessie began pacing with the baby. 

"We don't know," James started softly, "Maybe it'll be alright, maybe he'll come back, maybe…maybe he hasn't lost it. He'll pull himself together and come back for his baby." 

Jessie's pacing took her to the small living room, "Fine, Maybe he'll come back…"

Meowth shook his head at them. "I don't know. Pallet was destroyed seven months ago, his home's gone, his mom's gone, even dat Professor Oak's gone. He's finally snapped. Besides, if he was goin' ta come back he wouldn't have taken his gun and all his stuff with him."

Jessie angrily paced back into the kitchen. "Meowth, you aren't helping!" She said loudly causing the baby to cry more. Seeing she was too angry, James reached out and took Jacob from her. 

A soft cough was heard and they turned to the hallway to find three-year-old Justin standing there yawning. "Justin go back to sleep, it's too early," Jessie said to the small boy. "Why is the baby so loud, Mamma?" He asked. Jessie began rubbing her temples as if she had a severe headache. Not getting an answer, Justin wandered over into the living room. He went to the couch and looked at it strangely. "Mamma?" he asked. 

"Go back to bed, Justin." Jessie said. Justin ignored her and continued his questioning. "Mamma, where did the man and the Pikachu go? They were sleeping on the couch, where'd they go Mamma?" Seeing Jessie reaching her limit James stepped in. 

"The man and the Pikachu left, Justin." James explained lightly. Justin tilted his head to the side, "Why?" James smiled wearily. "He went…home." Justin stared hard at the couch, "When will the man come back?" he asked. James shook his head slowly.

"The man probably isn't coming back." James said slowly. Justin looked at his father strangely, "Yes he is."

"No, Justin. He's not."

"Yes he is, Daddy." James started walking towards his son. 

"Now how do you know that Justin?" Justin reached and pulled something out from among the blankets. "'Cause he left his hat."

  
  


TO BE CONTINUED… 

A/N: Alrighty, well, that was a little shorter then originally planned. Oh well. I have come to the realization that mewberries is the only person reading this other then my friend LadyDeadEye.... but that's ok. It's ok because unlike some people I won't make you review in order to keep me writing. Because I enjoy writing. Really... I do.

Deep down I believe I am losing my touch for this story. It's been a long two years. However, I will never stop writing this. I will see this through to the end. Unlike a lot of people I never stopped liking Pokemon. So this story is in no danger of being stopped. I write on no matter what. 

Mewberries,

Thank you for everything. I love your comments. (I rock) : ) 


	24. The Supplanter

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and I only write for the pure joy it brings.

  
  


The Supplanter

Time slowly passed by for the small family in the cabin. Hope of the return of Ash Ketchum slowly faded. Both Meowth and James had searched for him, but neither was successful. Early every morning for three months Jacob woke everyone up with his loud wails. On one not so special morning Jessie and James were quieting Jacob when Meowth presented them with a book. The book had been dug out from deep within a closet. It hadn't been used for three years but it was in good condition. The words 'The Name Book' were printed neatly across the front cover. Since they had decided on Jacob's name they thought that they should find out what it meant.

"Well, Meowth what does it mean?" Jessie asked impatiently, shifting Jacob in her arms. 

Meowth searched through the pages of the book, "I'm lookin', I'm lookin'." 

James tapped the table anxiously, "Hurry up Meowth."

"Ya want ta look for it yourself? Here!" Meowth growled shoving the book in James' direction. James took up the book and began to flip through it. 

A moment later he smiled and cleared his throat. "I found it! It says 'Jacob: The Supplanter. One who replaced another.' Well that's interesting." 

Jessie sighed. "So I guess it doesn't fit him so perfectly." 

"Sure it does!" James said in protest, "His… his mom is …gone, right? So he's here instead. So he kind of replaced her…or the twerp is gone and he's here instead. So it does fit!" 

The talk of the name continued until they were interrupted by the small voice of Justin. "I want to hold the baby. I want to hold the baby." He said reaching his arms towards his mother. 

"Justin where did you come from?" James asked.

"My room," Justin said pointing towards the hallway, "I want to hold the baby." 

"Justin, you're too little to hold the baby." Jessie explained as she pried her son's fingers off Jacob's leg. Jacob didn't like this and started crying loudly.

Justin stamped his foot, "I want to hold the baby! I want to hold the baby! You never let me hold the baby!" Justin started pulling at Jessie's leg forcefully.

Jessie growled in frustration, "Justin…." She said through gritted teeth. 

James quickly stood up from his chair, "Hey Justin, why don't you go play outside for a while," he said smiling nervously. Justin quickly brightened, "Ok Daddy!" With that he scooted off to the back door. Jessie looked down at the crying Jacob. "He never stops," she said flatly, "He never stops crying. He just goes on and on." 

James gave her a sympathetic look, "He's just a little upset, he'll stop, watch I'll get him to smile." James leaned forward and tried making a funny face at the baby. Jacob however only cried louder. 

"Your not doin' it right," Meowth said getting up from his spot. He leaned over Jacob and made a funny face. Jacob cried louder. 

"You're scaring him! Get away!" Jessie said hitting Meowth. 

James sighed, "Come to think of it, Jacob's never smiled at me… has he smiled at you?" he asked looking at Jessie.

Jessie seemed a little surprised at the question. She had never thought about it. "No, he hasn't smiled at me." 

"Maybe he's too young ta smile," Meowth suggested. The three sat in silence for a moment.

James peered at the baby intently, "Do you think…. Do you think that he…knows?" he asked hesitantly. 

Jessie looked at him in confusion, "Knows what?" she asked. 

James began to answer when a door slam announced that Justin was back in the house. The small boy ran down the hallway and into the room that was being used for Jacob. "Justin! What are you doing?!" Jessie called after him. Justin came running out of the room with Ash's hat in his hands. "What are you doing with that?" She asked again.

Justin bolted to the door; "I need it!" he called as he headed outside.

"Justin!" Jessie called after him, but the boy was gone. Jacob had started to calm down by this time. Jessie sighed and turned back to James, "What do you mean 'he knows'?" 

"Well," James started, "Do you think he knows… about what happened?" 

"Happened?" Jessie asked, bewildered. 

"Well he's so sad. It's like he knows about his parents." James said softly.

Jessie began to answer but Justin came running back inside. "Daddy? Can I have water?" he asked breathlessly.

James quickly got a glass of water and handed it to Justin. Once he had done so, Jessie shook her head at him, "He's a baby, he can't know that. He doesn't know anything." However they all looked at the baby uncomfortably.

Justin pulled at his dad's pant leg, "Daddy, can I have water?" 

James looked at his son with a small smile, "You have water Justin." Justin looked at the glass in his hand. 

"I need more Daddy," he said holding out his free hand. 

"Finish the water you have first." James said.

"But we're thirsty," Justin protested.

"Justin! Finish the water you have," Jessie said impatiently. 

"What did he just say?" Meowth asked. 

"I need more!" Justin demanded. 

"Why?" James asked, "Why do you need more? You have some right there."

"Cause he's thirsty too," Justin said with a pout. 

"Who's thirsty too?" James asked. 

Justin blinked curiously at his dad, "Jacob's daddy, of course."

For a moment everything went silent… and then Jessie sprang up to her feet and dashed to the door with James right behind her. Meowth scrambled after them trying to push his way in front of them. The trio stumbled into the sunlight. The clearing was empty except for the small cabins. Justin came outside and walked past his parents looking around with confusion. 

"Where'd he go?" Justin asked softly.

James slowly knelt down so he could be at his son's level. "Justin who was here?" he asked.

Justin looked down at the ground and bit his lower lip. Jessie knelt down also, shifting Jacob in her arms. She stared at Justin seriously, "Justin?" she asked.

Justin rubbed his nose and sniffed, "It was the Pikachu man. Jacob's daddy," he said beginning to pout. 

"What?!" The trio shouted in unison. 

"Pikachu man?" Meowth asked in bewilderment. 

"Where did he go Justin?" Jessie demanded. 

"I don't know." Justin sniffled looking like he might cry. 

"It's okay Justin. Did he say anything to you?" James asked intently.

Justin shook his head slowly. "He didn't say anything. He was just standing there and I thought he wanted his hat. Then he still wasn't saying anything, so I thought he was thirsty… and I went to get a glass of water…" he sniffled.

"Yes?" James asked.

"I don't know. He was right there." Jacob said pointing to the empty space in front of him.

"Well where did he go?!" Jessie exclaimed. "He can't just take his hat and run! Doesn't the twerp care about his baby?!" As if on cue, Jacob began crying loudly.

"I told ya before, the twerp's completely lost it." Meowth stated.

"Are you okay Justin?" James asked. Justin nodded.

Jessie growled angrily, "We used to run into him all the time, now we can't find him when we really need to!"

"I'm sure he'll come back eventually," James said.

"Eventually?! Eventually?!" Jessie yelled. 

"We just have to be patient!" James yelled back. 

"We are not being patient anymore. Go out and look for him!" 

"Me?! Why me?" 

"Because I have to take care of the twerp's brat!" And with that Jessie took Justin by the hand and stormed into the house slamming the door behind her. James heaved a heavy sigh. Meowth sighed and patted James knee. "Don't worry she'll calm down eventually, she always does." Meowth said as he turned to go back in the house. James gave only a slight nod and then slowly started off to see if he could find anything. He had no idea if he would find anything or even if he wanted to find anything. If the twerp had really snapped then who knew what he was thinking or what he was thinking of doing. Why had the twerp come back if he wasn't going to take his son? James kicked at the dirt irritably; nothing could ever be simple.

***

Night had come to the small clearing. In the little cabin a figure stood above a sleeping baby's crib. With caution and great care the figure lifted the sleeping baby from his bed. Then the figure placed a piece of paper in the crib. The man turned towards an opened window and started making his way over to it. However, when the man was getting ready to climb out the window, he was stopped by a soft sound. There in the doorway to the baby's room was young Justin. He looked curiously at the man for a moment. 

"Are you taking baby Jacob home with you?" the young boy asked in a soft voice. The man was startled by the child's sudden presence and he only nodded at the boy's question. Justin sniffled, "Will you take good care of baby Jacob?" he asked. The man looked at the baby in his arms, whispering the word 'Jacob' to himself. The man nodded again to answer the boy's question. Nothing more was said between the two and the man then slipped out of the window and he slowly disappeared into the surrounding forest. As soon as the man was gone from the cabin, Justin ran to the window and peered out into the darkness. "Bye Jacob…. Bye… Pikachu man…"

Moonlight shown through the window illuminating the empty crib and the piece of paper that had been left behind. The words that were written there formed a letter addressed to Jessie and James. 

Dear Jessie and James,

I don't know why this has all happened. I never intended to leave. I apologize for leaving this child with you. I will now take him back with me. Thank you. 

-Ash Ketchum

TO BE CONTINUED…….

  
  


A/N: This took very very long and I apologize. It took me a long time to write this because I really am not very good when I write about Team Rocket. I hope everyone likes this. I was utterly shocked when I saw someone other then Mewberries review. Thank you so much Ilex the Elder, it means a lot to me. I can't believe you read it all in one sitting. That's just amazing. 

BTW, did anyone see the new Pokemon movie? I did. Time traveling...what a crazy idea ;). Well everyone I'll try to have the next part up as soon as I can. Leave a review if you want to comment or ask me a question. Thanks again.

  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  



	25. An Average Morning

An Average Morning

A steady beeping filled the living room of the small home. The sound bounced through the kitchen and then down the hallway. It filled the small room to the right before continuing down to the master bedroom where it fell on seemingly deaf ears. A Pikachu sleeping on a pillow rolled over in an attempt to ignore the noise and keep sleeping. A man sleeping near the Pikachu did not stir at all. The beeping continued for quite sometime. The door creaked open to the master bedroom and in wobbled a young toddler. He had brown hair and was wearing blue pajamas. The door was pushed the rest of the way open and he fell to the ground. With much struggling the toddler was able to get to his feet again and start walking into the room. 

After falling a numerous amount of times the toddler made it to the edge of the bed. He attempted to pull himself onto the bed but only succeeded in falling over again. He righted himself again and began hitting the edge of the bed with his hand. Pikachu slowly awoke, muttering a soft 'Pika' and looked over the demanding boy. "Pipika?" Pikachu asked slowly, "Pika pi Pikachu?" 

The small boy made no responding noise and instead attempted to wobble back towards the door. Pikachu suddenly became aware of the continuous beeping in the background and quickly leapt off the bed. Pikachu scuttled past the baby, down the hallway and into the living room. In the corner of the living room there was a computer and its screen was flashing as it beeped. Pikachu jumped into the desk chair and hit a button on the keyboard. The screen flashed and the image of a man appeared. 

"It's about time!" the man exclaimed. "Wait a minute… Pikachu? Where's that no good trainer of yours?!" Pikachu made a motion to the bedroom. The man hit his forehead with his hand, "He's sleeping?! Do you have any idea what time it is?!" Pikachu shook his head. "He was supposed to be here an hour ago! Wake him up! Brock's going to kill him!" With a nod, Pikachu hopped off the chair and went running back down the hallway just as the baby was wobbling into the living room. A moment later Pikachu had jumped from the floor and landed on his master's chest, "Pikapi!" Pikachu shouted. 

"Cut it out," the man mumbled, still sleeping. 

"Pikapi! Pikachupikapikapikachu!" Pikachu chattered quickly.

"Phone? Tracey? What …I'm late?! What time is it?!"

Yells were suddenly heard throughout the small home. "Why didn't you wake me up?!" Pikachu defended himself with an electric shock and there was a loud thud as the man hit the ground. A moment later he came running down the hallway and into the living room. He saw the toddler standing in front of him and jumped like mad to avoid crashing into him. The jump turned into more of a trip and the man ended up on the floor while the boy remained unharmed. In fact, the child laughed.

"Ash!" Tracey shouted from the computer.

"I'm here! I'm awake!" Ash shouted, getting up from his position on the floor. 

"Yeah, well your going to be dead if you don't get down here!" Tracey shouted back. 

"I know, I know…I'm on my way..." Ash said rolling his eyes.

"Ash!" 

"I know! I'll be there!" Ash said and then promptly turned off the phone. He then turned and ran back into the hallway. A minute later he was running back through the living room wearing jeans and a gray shirt. He got all the way to the front door before he turned, rushed over to his baby and picked him up. 

"Why do you always let me do that?" Ash said to his electric mouse. A moment later Ash was out the door with his son who was now wearing little blue sweats and a white shirt. Pikachu was running alongside Ash. He headed down a dimly lit hallway with many numbered doors on each side of him. Each numbered door was the entrance to a different person's home. Ash turned down another hallway and then another. The corridor ended and Ash walked into a small market area. The floor was simply cement, giving the area a dull look. Bright lamps hung from the high dirt ceiling. On either side there were small stores and restaurants. People were coming in and out of doors pushing past each other in the morning rush. Ash continued walking past all the brightly lit signs. Soon the restaurants turned into small food booths and the stores turned into sidewalk shops. 

Ash rushed passed all the activity, ignoring an old woman who was trying to sell him dumplings. Soon, Ash left the shops and booths behind and the corridor suddenly widened and the ceiling rose even higher. Ash had entered an enormous cavern. To Ash's right there was a small building with gray boxes surrounding it. To his left there was what looked like a large garage, along the walls of the garage were workbenches with tools scattered about. Past this the area turned into a military base. Aircraft were lined up in rows on both sides and straight ahead there was a huge tunnel. To the left of the tunnel was a smaller tunnel with people in hard hats walking in and out of it. To the far right of the large tunnel was a large structure. Above was the same dirt ceiling. Just below the ceiling hung metal walkways. Ladders hanging from the metal walkway allowed people to climb up to work on the rock-dirt ceiling. When the cavern was being created, the walkways were installed to allow people to oversee the construction below and check the condition on the uneven rock ceiling. 

Ash turned left and walked into the garage. A small plane was parked in the garage. A man with a Pikachu was standing by the plane's open side. Sitting in the cockpit was Tracey Sketchit. Tracey was flipping switches on the dashboard and getting no response from the plane's engine. Upon Ash's arrival, Tracey jumped out of the plane and took the toddler from Ash. 

"Hey little Jake," Tracey said cheerfully to the boy. His tone swiftly changed as he turned to Ash. "Nice of you to show up."

Ash shrugged off the remark and looked to the man who was still tinkering with something in the plane's side. "I think Rich has everything under control," Ash said smiling. Suddenly sparks flew out of the side of the plane and Rich jumped back holding his hand and cursing loudly. Jake laughed from Tracey arms. There was a loud bang as the plane's engine sparked and then began smoking. Dark smoke filled the area and within seconds an alarm sounded. 

"The fire alarm! Someone shut the fire alarm off!" Tracey shouted. Ash had already been making his way through the smoke in search of the off switch. A door was heard opening somewhere and a spiky haired man appeared. 

"What's going on here?" he asked. 

"Brock, the plane…bad wires," Rich said coughing and attempting to wave the smoke away from him. 

"Will someone shut that alarm off?!" Brock yelled.

"I'm trying!" Ash yelled. The smoke was getting worse and it was impossible to find the switch on the wall. Ash blindly slapped at the wall in search of the off switch. "Where is it?!" Ash yelled in frustration. 

"To your left! Ash, try your left!" Rich yelled, coughing through the smoke. Pikachu was attempting to point the switch out when Ash moved to his left and almost stepped on him. Ash blindly slapped at the wall again. A moment later a click was heard and the alarm stopped. Another click was heard and the smoke began to dissipate as ceiling fans sucked it up. A group of men in gray jumpsuits had gathered near the entrance to the garage and they were presently laughing at the entire scene. 

"You guys need some help?" One of them asked smirking. Ash, Tracey, Rich and even Brock were looking at the men with great annoyance and loathing. Jake however was giggling and trying to wiggle out of Tracey's arms. 

"Would you like to give that plane to someone who knows what they're doing?" The annoying man asked again. 

"Well, if we did we wouldn't give it to you," Rich said gritting his teeth. The man seemed slightly thrown off the comment and his smirk turned into a scowl. 

"I don't think I understand you, you filthy battery brat."

Rich and Ash looked like they were about to lunge at the men and Pikachu and Sparky were going to help them, but Brock quickly stepped in. 

"I believe you gentlemen should be getting back to work, after all we don't want the planes to fall into disrepair, do we?" Brock said as politely as possible. The man glared at Brock for a moment, but then shrugged and motioned for the other gray suited men to follow him. 

"Damn mechanics," Rich mumbled after them. 

Ash glared at their retreating backs, "They think they're better than us. Stuck up, arrogant, so--" 

"I want both of you to keep your mouths shut," Brock said curtly, cutting Ash off, "We can't fight with them if we're going to continue working with them."

"We don't work with them, we charge and fix the plane batteries. The plane only goes to them if something else is wrong with it," Ash said as he took Jake back from Tracey. 

"Yeah, and the only reason we have these jobs is because you two have Pokemon," Tracey sighed, looking at Ash and Rich. Pikachu and Sparky both perked their ears up at the mention of them. 

"That," Ash said, "is not true. "We're all an important part of the team. I'm here because this is my home town, Rich is here because I asked him to be, Tracey is here to make sure we don't blow ourselves up and Brock is here to handle the paperwork." Ash smiled at them all. 

"That's true," Rich said quietly. 

"However," Ash spoke again, "We had better watch out, because if people show up with electric Pokemon that can charge batteries, then we're all out of a job." 

They all chuckled a bit, "Right, that's going to happen!" Rich said as he went back to the plane's side.

"There hasn't been a single other Pokemon around here since before Jacob was born," Tracey said shaking his head. 

"All right, back to work everyone! Those wires need to be replaced and that battery needs to be charged! Let's go, we still have ten planes to check today!" Brock said as he began looking through some papers. 

"See Brock?" Ash said smiling, "What would we do without you?"

"Shut up Ash," Brock said shaking his head. 

To be continued………..

A/N: WOW! It took me so long to write this! With all the descriptions and....Wow... I'm so glad I finished this chapter. Well, I may not get another chapter up before x-mas so MERRY CHRISTMAS! Please r/r. 


	26. Life's Difficulties

  
  


A/N: This chapter discusses events that occured in earlier chapters. I'm just going to hope you remember what happened after Misty's death. Thank you. Please Review.

  
  


Life's Difficulties

Ash was sitting in the cockpit of a plane, absently flipping switches while holding his squirming son. The plane made a soft buzzing sort of sound and then stopped. "Come on…" Ash said through gritted teeth. 

"Ash there's something wrong here," Said Rich, who was looking at wires in the plane's side. "The battery's full but it won't start."

"Check the wires," Ash said, flipping another switch on the control panel. 

"I already did."

"Check them again!" Ash said in frustration. 

"Ash?" Rich asked. Ash didn't reply. Rich wiped his hands off on a rag and quickly walked to the steps that lead up to the cockpit. Rich walked up three steps and was eye level with Ash. "Ash, we can't do anything for it now, we have to send it over to the mechanics." 

"No, we are not sending it over, it's probably the wiring. Here take him." Ash handed Jake over to Rich and climbed down form the cockpit.

"It's not the wiring," Rich said, grimacing as Jake pulled his ear. Ash went to the opened side of the plane. He stared for a moment and then reached in and began checking wires.

"It's not the wiring," Rich repeated, but Ash ignored him. Rich looked to Tracey for back up, but Tracey had become suddenly very interested in a spot on the floor. Baby Jake poked Rich in the eye and tugged on his nose. Feeling frustrated, Rich put Jake in the seat of the cockpit and hurried to Ash's side. Ash suddenly stopped and looked surprised, "It's not the wires," he said. "That's what I said. I already checked them," Rich said angrily. Ash was about to say something back but was interrupted by Brock. 

"Ash! Can I see you for a minute!" Brock called from his small office to the side of the garage.

"Um… yeah! Just a second!" Ash yelled. 

"It's kind of important!" Brock shouted again.

"I'll be there in a second!" Ash said, angry that Brock didn't trust him to come. 

Rich went over to the workbench and picked up Sparky, his sleeping Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu remained asleep on the workbench. 

"Ash, why didn't you listen to me about the wiring?" Rich asked. Ash ignored him and started walking toward Brock's office. 

"Watch him for me!" Ash called, referring to Jake who was busy trying to stand up on the seat. 

Brock's office was a small place with one door, a computer set up in one corner and a desk that was swamped with papers. Brock was sitting at the computer, looking intently at the computer screen. 

"What do you want?" Ash asked casually, taking a chair in front of the desk. Brock was quiet for a moment. He seemed to be busy reading something. Brock cleared his throat and, without turning his head from the screen, he motioned for Ash to come sit in the chair next to him. Ash sighed and slowly got up and went around the desk to the computer. 

"I thought… I thought you might want to see for yourself," Brock said as Ash took his seat. 

"See what?" Ash asked staring annoyingly at the screen. Brock pointed to the screen.

"This is the latest report on Cerulean City. They've been rebuilding and making a lot of progress since the last attack a year ago. There's an interesting article here. Apparently, someone everyone thought was dead is actually alive."

"Who?" Ash asked.

"It's Daisy, Ash. She's alive. She's the only sister left. Everyone thought she died when the gym was destroyed, but she's alive." Brock stopped and looked at Ash, who had fallen strangely quiet. "There's more. Apparently, she's been looking for you. There's a whole article about it, see? Last Cerulean Sister Searches for Last Pokemon Master."

"All the reports said all the sisters were dead. Where has she been and what do you mean she's 'looking for me?' I haven't gone anywhere. I'm not hard to find," Ash said. 

"Pallet doesn't post reports for other people to see. She had no way of looking up to see if you were here," Brock said raising his eyebrows. 

"She knew I was from Pallet she could have come here. Where else would I go?" 

"She couldn't have just come here. You know it's not safe to travel alone on the roads anymore. She probably didn't want to risk it."

"I went to Cerulean. I went there right after it was attacked. I almost got myself killed doing it too. Every list said all three sisters were dead. I can't believe it. How could she be alive?" Ash said shaking his head. 

"Maybe you should write and ask her. She would probably like to hear from you and hear about Jacob, he's her nephew after all." 

Ash crossed his arms and shut his eyes. He was silent for so long that Brock thought that Ash might not write to her at all and he started to get impatient. "You can write her now if you want. You can use my computer."

***

  
  


To Daisy: This is Ash Ketchum. I am alive. I am living in Pallet with my son. Write back. -Ash Ketchum 

It wasn't the best letter, but Ash didn't know what else to say. He had stared at a blank screen for thirty minutes trying to figure out what he should tell Daisy. When he arrived in Pallet with baby Jacob he sent notice to all his still living friends. He informed them that he was alive and he had invited Tracey, Ritchie, and Todd to come work with Brock and him. Todd had denied the offer, but Tracey and Ritchie had both decided to come. 

Upon leaving Brock's office, Ash was met with an alarming scene. There was Jacob, his baby son, sprawled motionlessly on the garage floor. Tracey was bent over him checking his pulse and Ritchie was standing to the side looking worried. Pikachu had awoken and was nudging the Jacob's form. Ritchie looked up, startled to see Ash. 

"Ash…" He began. Ash wasn't listening to him. He was soon kneeled at Jacob's side looking intently at his son. Breathing…let him be breathing. Ash begged silently. Jacob's small chest was moving slowly up and down. It was too slow, Ash checked Jacob's pulse, it didn't feel right either. "Ash…I'm sorry," Rich said softly. 

"What happened?" Ash asked, forming each word carefully in attempt to control his panic. 

"He was standing in the plane…I only turned my back for a minute," Rich tried to explain. Ash's panic quickly turned to anger. He turned to Rich and slowly stood up. 

"You were supposed to be watching him…what did you do…" Ash said through gritted teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"I-I was. He just leaned over the side…I-I didn't think …I didn't know. I was too far away, he fell and I couldn't ca-" Rich was abruptly interrupted by Ash's fist coming in contact with his left cheek. Ash lunged himself fully at Rich and they were soon both on the floor and Ash was pounding Rich as hard as he could. At first Rich tried to explain himself, but he soon became distracted by trying to deflect Ash's fists. 

"Stop you two!" Tracey yelled, trying to pull Ash off of Ritchie. Brock soon came out of his office to investigate the sudden noise. Brock ran over and quite forcefully shoved Ash off of Ritchie. 

"Let me go, let me go Brock! I'm going to kill him!" Ash said struggling to free himself from Brock's hold. Tracey put himself between the two and handed Ritchie a handkerchief to hold against his bleeding lower lip. 

"Ash!" Brock said, attempting to turn Ash's face so he had to look at him. 

"Look what he did to Jacob, I'm going to kill him!" 

"Ash!" Brock shouted and shook him to get his attention. "Ash, Look at me. What the hell are you doing?" Brock said through clenched teeth. Ash made a few sounds in protest, but didn't seem to be able to come up with an explanation for his actions. 

"Ash," Brock lowered his voice so that the others couldn't hear him, "You are not a child anymore, you cannot get into fights like this." Ash began shaking his head in protest. "Listen to me," Brock said shaking him again, "we'll take your son to the medical center. This is not Ritchie's fault, Jacob is not Ritchie's son he is yours. You cannot blame anyone for this. Do you understand me?"

Ash slowly nodded, but he didn't look too happy about it. Brock left Ash and went to Jacob's side. He checked the soon-to-be toddler's pulse and then slowly picked him up. Brock looked to Rich and Tracey. Ritchie was holding a bloody handkerchief to his face. Sparky was sitting close to his trainer, glaring at Ash. 

"Tracey, will you take Ritchie to the Center?" Brock asked. Tracey nodded, glancing nervously as Ash walked past him. Pikachu followed Ash, giving Sparky an apologetic look. Brock carefully handed Jacob to Ash and then the two set off towards the market place. 

The medical center was a very small enclosed building located just after the corridor ended and before the market area began. Brock and Ash walked silently through small crowds of people. Not to far behind them was Tracey walking with Ritchie. When they got to the medical center Brock took care of telling the nurses about Jacob. Ash took a seat in the small waiting room, still holding his son. When Tracey entered with Rich they took the seats farthest away from Ash. There was no one else in the waiting room that day and it wasn't long before the one doctor in the building was examining Jacob. Jacob was placed on a bed in a small examination room and the doctor looked him over carefully. The doctor was very old and he wore large glasses. He was one of the only doctors in Pallet Town. 

Hours passed, Tracey left to mind the garage, Rich was bandaged up and went home, and Ash was left to wait for the doctor to find something wrong. Brock waited as Ash answered the doctor's questions. The doctor asked how old Jacob was. When Ash answered him the doctor was surprised. 

"He certainly is small for his age," the doctor said rubbing his chin. 

"He was small when he was born," Ash said softly, not taking his eyes off his unconscious son. 

"Well," The doctor said, making a note on a clipboard, "There seems to be nothing wrong with your son."

Ash snapped his head up in surprise, "What?" he asked.

"Not a mark on him," The doctor replied, "Not a bruise or a cut or a bump. He doesn't have any broken bones or head injuries. He appears to have passed out, but I suspect he will be fine."

Ash was shaking his head in disbelief, "But…he fell…. he fell, it had to be at least six feet." 

The doctor cleared his throat, "I suggest you take him home to rest and then, if you wish, you can bring him in for a check-up in a few days."

Ash was soon on his way home with Jacob in his arms. Brock had decided to walk with them; just to make sure everything was all right. They walked silently down the hallways that lead to Ash's home. Ash couldn't stop repeating the doctor's words. There was nothing wrong with his son. Nothing wrong. 

"Think of it as a miracle Ash, and let it go," Brock said, he was tired of Ash repeating the same thing. Ash stopped talking and Brock thought that he had let it go. 

"It wasn't a miracle or luck, I don't believe in either, but this is the second time," Ash said softly.

"What?" Brock asked in confusion.

Ash took a deep breath and looked at Brock. "I never told you what happened that day. The day he was born. Right after Jacob was born…" Ash trailed off and bit his lower lip. 

"What are you talking about?" Brock asked stopping in the middle of the hallway. Ash's gaze fell to the floor, "After he was born… I ran into some Nazuk. I killed most of them, but I missed one. It got a hold of Jacob…something happened… Jacob was thrown at least fifteen feet. I found him wedged between two rocks…. he was fine… not a mark on him. He was fast asleep when I found him… not a scratch." 

They both stood in complete silence for a moment and then Ash abruptly started walking again. Brock paused for a moment and then quickly followed Ash. They were walking side by side again. 

"You don't believe me," Ash said simply. Brock looked as if he wanted to protest but he didn't say anything. "I understand," Ash said. "I was really messed up at the time and I was running a fever. I wouldn't believe me either. I wasn't delusional though. I know what happened. I don't need you to believe me." They had arrived at Ash's home and Ash entered a code on a keypad right outside the door. 

"Ash," Brock started uncertainly. 

Ash quickly opened the door to his home, allowing Pikachu to enter first. He then slipped quickly inside himself. "Bye Brock," he said and shut the door. 

To be continued.......

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long, I have been very busy with school. All I can do is hope someone is still reading this. Thank you. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	27. Many Meetings

Many Meetings

Jacob's screaming awoke Pikachu and Ash at 2 o'clock in the morning. Pikachu immediately jumped up and ran to the two-year-old's room. Ash, however, lay in bed with his hands over his face. It was the fourth night in a row that Jacob had awoken screaming. Ash was sure he would soon lose his mind. Pikachu came running back into the room and jumped onto the bed. "Pikapi, pikachu?" Pikachu asked. Ash sighed and slowly sat up and pushed himself out of bed. It was dark and it took Ash a minute to find his way into the hallway. He stumbled down the hallway to Jacob's opened door. 

The small room contained only a new bed, a small dresser and a toy chest. At the moment the bed was completely stripped of sheets and blankets. At the sight of the sheets Ash groaned. He knelt down beside the bed and slowly looked underneath. All of the blankets and sheets were under the bed. A small tuft of brown hair told Ash that his son was wrapped up in the blankets (still screaming). He reached down and swiftly yanked his son out. Jacob began thrashing around, striking out with small legs and fists. Jacob felt too warm to Ash. Ash quickly deposited the young child onto the mattress. Ash watched as Jacob continued screaming and thrashing around in his blankets. Ash rubbed his face with his hands in frustration. Jacob slowly stopped screaming and turned to see his father. He then started crying and mumbling something that sounded like 'pikapi.' Ash reached over and felt his son's forehead. As Ash had expected, Jacob was warmer than normal, he was sick. 

Ash buried his face in his son's mattress and sighed heavily. Pikachu had curled up on Jacob's side in an attempt to quiet the small boy. Jacob stopped crying and began tugging at his father's ear. Ash slowly looked up and stared at Jacob for a moment. Jacob coughed and grabbed his father's nose. Ash jerked away, causing Jacob to smile gently. Ash looked at the crumpled up sheets and the exposed mattress. 

"I am way too tired to deal with this right now, how about you just sleep in my bed for the rest of the night," Ash suggested, leaning down to scoop up his son. The two year-old buried his warm face into his father's neck. With that Ash carried Jacob out of the room and into the hallway.

***

"Ash, maybe you should take him to the doctor."

"I took him a few days ago. He just keeps getting sick off and on." 

It was in the middle of the afternoon and Ash was sitting in the cockpit of a jet, flipping switches.

"Still," Brock said, "You shouldn't bring him with you to work when he's sick." Brock had come out of his office to check on things, when he noticed Jacob was ill. 

"I can't stay home every time he has a fever, I would never be able to come into work if I did," Ash said holding his sleeping son in his free arm.

Brock looked as if he was about to argue with Ash, but was soon interrupted. A woman in dark blue dress was standing at the garage entrance. She was holding a suitcase in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other.

"Excuse me, is this the garage where the batteries for the jets are recharged?" asked the woman. Brock simply nodded and Ash stared blankly. He knew who she was, but he couldn't believe it. 

"Ash, is that you?" she asked. The women grinned broadly. "Like, Wow! You've really grown up." 

"Daisy," Ash said in disbelief. Daisy continued to grin as if her sudden arrival had been expected. Ash slowly stood and carefully began to climb out of the jet. Daisy walked over, practically skipping with excitement. 

"Hello, Brock! How are you?" She bubbled. As soon as Ash made it down the ladder, Daisy pulled Jacob right out of Ash's arms. "Oh! Is this my little nephew? Hey there sweetie!" She squealed, abruptly waking Jacob from his sleep. She held him up, waiting for some kind of reaction, but Jacob only stared at her, slightly shocked and horrified. "Wow, he looks like you. He doesn't look a thing like Misty does he?" Daisy said, handing him back to Ash. Jacob began crying and buried his face into his father's neck.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked in confusion. 

Daisy faltered, "Well, I got your letter of course!" She looked at Ash as if he was silly not to know. 

"That was a year ago, you didn't even write back."

"Well I didn't have time to write back, I just packed my things and headed over here, so here I am!" She said smiling even more than before. 

"A year… it took you a year?" Ash said in disbelief. 

"Well, I had some trouble finding this place. Apparently you're under tight security here or something."

"Why didn't you… contact me?" Ash sounded as if he was choking on something. 

"I didn't think I needed to. We are family after all and I, like, needed a place to stay for awhile."

"Whoa, wait. What do you mean stay?"

"We should stick together shouldn't we? You're the only family I've got left and I'm the only family you've got too. It makes sense doesn't it? I'll just stay with you until I can get my own home here."

"You can't stay with me," Ash said shaking his head. 

"Why not?"

"You just can't"

"Come on Ash, let me stay."

"There's no room."

"I don't take up much room, please?"

"No."

"Misty would have let me stay."

Ash twitched slightly and fell quiet. Jacob peered up at his father curiously. "Fine. I don't care. Do what you want." Ash said waving his hand at her dismissively. 

"Oh, Thank you Ash! I promise I'll only be there a few days."

"Right, only a few days." 

****

It was 2:30 am and Ash was sitting on Jacob's bed holding his shaking child in his arms. Jacob was whimpering and clutching at his father's shirt. Ash placed a damp cloth on his son's forehead. "Go to sleep Jacob," Ash said quietly. 

A bright light suddenly swept over Ash. "Oh! Sorry, Ash. Is he still sick?" Daisy was standing in the doorway shinning a flashlight in Ash's eyes. 

"Daisy, what are you doing?" Ash said squinting up at her. 

"I thought you could use some company," Daisy chirped, holding up a book. 

"No, I mean I thought you were leaving tonight."

"Well, actually…it turns out that my place isn't ready yet. So I'll be here for a few more days," Daisy said, making her way across the room and sitting down next to Ash. 

"That's what you said last week," Ash sighed. 

"Well, you can't rush these things," Daisy said looking at Ash with a smile. 

Ash hung his head in defeat and Jacob reached up and touched his father's nose. 

"Hey Ash, why don't you let me sit with my nephew and you can, like, get some sleep?" 

"No offense Daisy, but I don't think he likes you that much." 

"Sure he does. I'm his Auntie aren't I?" Daisy said, setting down her book and holding her arms out to take Jacob. "Come on Ash, I can sit with him for a while."

Ash was worn out from caring for his son for the past few nights and he was too tired to argue. He carefully put Jacob into Daisy's outstretched arms. Jacob settled into his aunt's arms with no protest. Daisy beamed and started humming softly to the boy. 

"What's that?" Ash asked groggily, beginning to hoist himself up to leave.

"It's a lullaby, my mom used to sing it to all of us when we were very small," Daisy said with a soft smile. Ash nodded and walked slowly out of the room, leaving Jacob alone with Daisy. A quite moment past before Jacob started to whimper. 

"Don't cry. Here, look what I brought," Daisy said, opening her book and propping it up on her leg. The light from the flashlight revealed pages of photographs. The book was actually a photo album. Daisy flipped through a few pages. "See this one here? The one in the middle that's your daddy when he was younger, and here…" Daisy flipped another page, "…. this is your mommy." Daisy smiled and looked at her nephew to see his reaction. After a moment, the child carefully reached out and brushed his fingers against the picture. Despite his very young age, there was an understanding in Jacob's eyes that stopped Daisy from feeling that she needed to explain anything to him.

****

"How long has it been?"

"Three months."

"How long was she supposed to stay?"

"A few days."

"Well she had better move out of your place soon or she might decide to make it her permanent home." 

"What?!" Ash asked, giving Brock a look of horror. 

Ash and Brock were walking through the market after eating on their lunch break. 

"Well, it seems to me that she doesn't really want to move out on her own," Brock answered. 

"Jacob! Come here right now!" Ash yelled when he noticed his son had wandered off and was standing next to an old lady selling dumplings. The little old lady bowed to Jacob and he nodded in response. "Jacob!" Ash yelled. Jacob quickly turned and ran towards his father carrying a dumpling in his hands. "Jacob, don't take someone's food." Ash reached down and took the dumpling from Jacob. Jacob hopped up and down and pulled on his father's pant leg. "No, Jacob," Ash said and he started walking toward the old lady. 

Ash made his way to the lady, dragging a now crying Jacob. When he got to the old lady she smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I think my son took this from you," Ash said holding out the dumpling. The old lady took the dumpling and, stooping down, handed it back to Jacob. Jacob sniffled and took the dumpling without hesitation. The old lady wiped away a tear from Jacob's face and smiled at him. 

"For the little prince," she said, bowing to Jacob. She then stood up and smiled at Ash before walking away. Ash knew that the little old lady spoke very few words in English and was amazed at her odd kindness to his Jacob. It was only upon Brock's request that made Ash continue his way back to work. 

It seemed that only a short moment had passed before Ash found himself standing outside of the garage where he worked. There, he found someone had been waiting for him. 

"Are you Mr. Ketchum?" The man asked. He was wearing a black suit and carrying a briefcase. His hair was jet black and slicked back. His eyes were a cold blue and his smile seemed to be quite forced. Pikachu came running out of the garage but stopped short, upon seeing the man in the suit. 

"Yes," Ash answered staring suspiciously at the man. 

"I have a message for you."

"What kind of message? From who?" Ash asked raising his eyebrow. 

"My name is Jonathan Briggs and as the Official Investigator of this base I have been sent here to examine its status and also to give you the following message..." The man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. 

"Dear Mr. Ash Ketchum, 

After the regretful incidents that occurred over two years ago, the Pokemon League and the Indigo Plateau have been under careful reconstruction. The League is grateful for your safety and this message has been sent in hope of your return to the League and your status as Pokemon Master. Please give a prompt answer to Mr. Jonathan Briggs and he will give you further information on your return. 

Respectfully Yours, 

The New Elite Four & The Pokemon League Officials"

Jonathan Briggs folded the letter and put it back into his jacket pocket. He then looked at Ash expectantly. Ash was slowly shaking his head, at a loss for words. 

"You're insane…they…" Ash pointed at the man's jacket pocket, "…they're insane… they…they can't…It's suicide." Ash said at a loss for wards. Jonathan Briggs' smile twitched slightly.

"The League has been carefully reforming itself for the past two years. We believe that it is superior to the last one…"

"What about the Nazuk?" Ash cut him off. Jonathan Briggs' smile faded. 

"Mr. Ketchum, there hasn't been an attack in quite sometime. We must keep on living our lives. It is an opportune time for the League to reform…"

"How can a league form without trainers? Don't… don't tell me you've been authorizing ten year-olds to become trainers and go on journeys." 

The man didn't respond, but eyed Ash coldly. 

"You know… everyone knows… the Nazuk are drawn to children… and Pokemon… Have you really been sending kids to their deaths?" 

"I can assure you that nothing of the sort has been occurring. The new League has authorized several trainers and there have been no attacks reported."

"They're waiting for you morons to send out enough so they can just come down and begin harvesting them. This is insane…and I refuse to be a part of it," Ash said fiercely. 

"That is most unfortunate, as the last Pokemon Master, the League was looking forward to your return."

"They can't form a new league, it will bring the Nazuk down and there will be even more destruction then two years ago." 

The man was now ignoring Ash and was pulling out a small clipboard form his briefcase. "Well, since that business is over, then I must continue my inspection of this place. Please allow me to ask you a few questions about your job here in this community."

Ash didn't answer, so the man took this as an approval to continue. "Would you describe your job as being one that tributes to the community?"

Ash nodded.

"Right, I understand you have a son Mr. Ketchum. Is that him there?" Jonathan Briggs asked pointing down at Jacob who had been shyly peering behind Ash's legs.

Ash nodded.

"Does he come with you to work everyday?"

"Yes," Ash said flatly.

"That could be a problem. I don't think small children should be allowed in this particular environment. He may be a distraction to you and he might also be in danger around all this equipment."

Ash looked as if he was going to yell at the man but then a smug expression crossed his face. "The same could be said to you, is that your daughter?" Ash said motioning to a little girl who was standing beside Jonathan Briggs' legs. 

"Samara…" Jonathan Briggs said through clenched teeth, "I told you to wait in the restaurant." The little girl, Samara, had completely ignored him however. She was a small girl with long black hair and deep blue eyes. Even though she looked like her father, there was something about her that was horribly familiar to Ash. Samara took a few steps toward Jacob. She was staring at him intensely and Jacob looked like he was too afraid to move. Ash looked at his son. What in the world? he thought. Jacob slowly nodded as if he had just been asked a question, then he nodded again at the little girl. 

"Jacob?' Ash asked softly. Be quiet. It had been her, the little girl had just told Ash to be quiet, but her mouth hadn't moved. "Psychic…" Ash whispered under his breath. He looked up at Jonathan Briggs and realized that there was fear on the man's face. He's afraid of her, Ash thought. Jacob then started crying and trying to hide his face in his father's pant leg. Ash suddenly realized why the little girl looked so familiar. 

"Your mother…" Ash began, and Samara looked up at him, "Her name wouldn't happen to be Sabrina would it?" 

The little girl studied Ash for a moment, "My mother is dead," She said flatly, "but, yes, that was her name." 

"Oh, I didn't know Sabrina was... you look a lot like her" Ash said, "who else could have a psychic daughter…."

"My daughter is not psychic Mr. Ketchum," Jonathan Briggs said sharply. 

"But she just…" Ash started.

"My daughter is perfectly normal. Now I must be going I have other places to inspect. Come, Samara." Jonathan Briggs said hastily turning and starting to leave. Samara stared at Jacob for a moment and then slowly turned and walked towards her waiting father.

  
  


To Be Continued………

A/N: A million apologies! This is sooo late. I was so busy with school and then I was busy with work. I was forced to get a job and it's been messing up the time I usually write this story. I'm sorry. 

Happy late July 4th anyway. Jacob's Story's anniversary just past. I think this story is three years old now... That's a really long time. Wow, three years. I'll try not to make it go too much longer. Thank you! Don't forget to review. 

  
  



	28. Samara

A/N: I live!!! You may have not have noticed but Jacob is getting older in each little scene. The flashback/flashforward continues!! Please Review! I apologize if the format is messed up.   
  
Samara  
  
"Ash, look over there," Brock said quietly. Ash didn't look up, but continued to look through his toolbox. "Ash look," Brock said nudging him. Ash sighed and looked up at Brock and followed Brock's gaze to the garage's opening. There stood Samara. In one hand she carried a blanket and in the other she had a doll. She was staring determinedly at Ash.   
  
"That's freaky...." Ash mumbled, "Jacob stay close." Ash said to his son, who was rolling a red ball into Ash's legs.   
  
"She looks like her mom," Brock said.   
  
"A little too much," Ash added wearily. Ash picked up his Pikachu, "Ready to get some work done, buddy?"   
  
"Pika!" said Pikachu happily.   
  
***  
  
Jacob was standing very still. Samara hadn't moved from her spot and he was watching her very closely. Jacob had been edging closer and closer to Samara, looking at her curiously. He sat his ball down at his feet and hesitantly he pushed it toward her. The blue ball slowly rolled toward Samara and stopped directly at her feet. Samara frowned and the blue ball began to glow.  
  
Ash had just finished hooking Pikachu up to a battery when a loud popping sound made him jump. Jacob immediately began crying. Ash turned and looked at his son who had thrown himself to the ground in tears. Samara had not moved at all and at her feet was a deflated blue ball. Ash left Pikachu and ran towards Samara. He just barely went past Jacob before stopping abruptly. He didn't dare take another step. As irritated as he was, he was wary of the psychic girl and what she might be capable of. Samara looked like her mother and she held the same threatening power.   
  
Ash stared into the young girls face. Her expression was blank and unreadable. Then her eyes shifted, as if focusing on Ash for the first time. A clear voice sounded in Ash's mind, ... now it begins. Samara quickly turned and walked briskly away, leaving Ash frozen in unsure silence and Jacob crying on the floor.  
  
***  
  
"Pikapi?"   
  
"Please don't call me that Jacob."  
  
"Pika Pikapi?"   
  
Ash shut his eyes in frustration. Jacob was nearing the age of three and he still hadn't said any understandable words. Instead he had taken to only saying three syllables and mimicking Pikachu by calling Ash Pikapi. It was now 2 o'clock in the morning and he was trying to get his young son to fall asleep. Jacob had been having nightmares for the past few nights and would not allow his father to get any sleep.   
  
In one last attempt Ash began to tell a familiar story about the first day Ash met Pikachu. Usually Jacob could fall asleep listening to his father's voice, but tonight he seemed restless. Jacob suddenly interrupted his father, "Pikachu pi." Jacob stated looking at his father fixedly. Ash stopped mid-sentence. He hadn't heard that in quite a while.   
  
"Pikachu pi... Misty..." Ash said softly. "Did Pikachu teach you that?"   
  
Jacob quickly reached under his pillow and pulled out a small photograph. He smiled and handed it to his father. Ash looked at the picture, it was an image of Misty smiling happily. She looked just as she did when he first met her. "Did Daisy give this to you?" Ash asked. Jacob looked at his father curiously. "Why didn't she tell me she gave this to you?" Ash asked, more to himself then his toddler. "I need to talk to her." Ash abruptly stood up and left the room with the picture. Jacob was left alone in his dark room.   
  
"Mama," he whispered softly into his pillow where no one else could hear.  
  
****  
  
"Daddy?"  
  
"I'm busy Jacob."   
  
"Daddy?"  
  
"What?" Ash asked turning from his papers to look at his three-year old son. Ash had been busy filling out forms at his job while the other workers took a break. Jacob had only begun actually speaking English words a little while ago, but he caught on fast and was now so good at speaking, everyone thought him to be some sort of marvel.  
  
Once Jacob had his father's attention he seemed hesitant to say anything. "What do you want?" Ash asked again.   
  
"Samara said...Samara said..." Jacob stammered.  
  
"Samara? Is she here? I told you to stay away from her," Ash said looking around.   
  
"She's not here," Jacob said. "She said... she said..." Jacob stopped and seemed confused about what he was trying to say. "Daddy, did I kill mommy?"   
  
Ash's mouth dropped open and he turned pale. "Wh-what?" he asked shakily. Jacob only stared worriedly at his father. "Did Samara say that?" Ash said covering his face with his hands. Jacob nodded. "She can't know anything about it, how could she..." Ash trailed off. "When did she tell you that?" Ash asked firmly.   
  
"When I was sleeping," Jacob answered promptly.  
  
"What? What does that mean?" Ash asked in confusion.   
  
"She's nice Daddy, she stops bad dreams. She's my friend," Jacob said quietly.  
  
"Go play Jacob..." Ash said through his hands.   
  
"Daddy?"  
  
"Leave me alone, I'm tired... so tired."  
  
Jacob slowly walked away from his father. Looking back he saw his dad leaning on the table, shoulders gently shaking.   
  
To be continued... 


	29. The Incident

A/N: It's been a while. I am sorry. This story is taking forever. Please excuse any spelling/grammer mistakes. Right now I am doing all my writing on WordPad (bleh). This was hard to write. Please tell me what you think in a review. Thank you!

The Incident

Samara was lying on her back, staring up at the high ceiling. She had picked out this spot a long time ago. Large gray crates were stacked around her and blocked her from the view of those passing by. No one knew where she went everyday to hide, no one except for the young Jacob. Jacob had to squeeze between two crates in order to reach her. His entrance was noisy and he tripped upon reaching her. Samara didn't even blink when he fell over her feet. "Move, Samara," Jacob whined pushing her shoes. Samara didn't budge, or even acknowledge his presence. Jacob sat in the corner with his knees brought up to his chest.

"I hate it here," She suddenly announced. Jacob tilted his head questioningly. "I'm leaving," Samara stated.

"Why?" Jacob asked curiously. Samara sat up so suddenly she made Jacob start. "Have you ever seen the sky, Jacob?" Jacob shook his head. "The sun? Clouds? The moon? The stars?" Jacob shut his eyes and didn't make a sound. He then pointed up.

"When I dream…" Jacob stopped and looked at Samara for a moment. "I see little bright lights in the sky…those are stars…they're nice. I see you too; you're there. The bad dreams go away when you're there and when she comes…" Jacob trailed off; he had lost what he was saying. Samara stared at him for a minute.

"You know Jacob, you might really be something if you weren't so small and stupid."

Not understanding, Jacob cried himself to sleep that night.

* * *

Jacob cried out and Daisy shushed him gently. He had spiked a fever in the night and had awoken Daisy with his cries. Ash was still asleep, but Daisy knew he wouldn't stay asleep, so long as Jacob kept crying. She had been singing a lullaby that her mother had sung to her when Jacob's eyes fluttered open. He was staring with a strange look in his eyes and Daisy felt that he didn't see her even though he was staring directly at her.

"Kasmira…" Jacob said, "Your eyes are cold." Jacob shut his eyes and fell back to sleep. Daisy was only slightly unnerved by what Jacob had said. The little one had mentioned Kasmira before. Daisy figured Kasmira was some sort of imaginary friend Jacob had made up and she didn't press the matter.

* * *

"Good Morning Jacob! Happy Birthday!" Daisy turned on the light in the sleeping child's room. Jacob blinked in the sudden light. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had been dreaming… dreaming about a monster. A monster was after him. Jacob shook his head trying to free himself of the last remnants of his nightmare. Daisy was singing somewhere in the hallway.

"Where's Daddy?" Jacob asked. There was a pause in the singing.

"Your Dad…he's left early to work, you'll see him later. Come on! Out of bed! Time to get ready! We're going out to eat. Won't that be fun?"

* * *

Brock lifted Jacob in the air, "Hey, Happy Birthday Jacob!" he said smiling and setting Jacob down on his worktable. "How old are you today?" He asked. Jacob held up four fingers, "I'm four," he said proudly.

"You're really something, you're almost all grown up already," Brock said ruffling Jacob's hair. Jacob simply nodded at this. "Where's Daddy?" Jacob asked softly.

"Your Dad went out to get something to eat I think." Brock paused, watching Jacob's face fall, "You want to wait for him?"

Jacob shook his head. "I'm gonna go play now."

Brock smiled, "Alright, see you in a little bit then."

* * *

"Samara," Jacob said softly, trying to get her attention. The girl, however, was ignoring him. She was in her secret spot, surrounded by gray crates. Samara was staring up at the ceiling as if she expected it to open up for her. Jacob knelt down and poked her in the arm, "Guess what today is, Samara." Jacob said.

For a moment she didn't answer, but then quite suddenly she flicked her eyes to Jacob and held his gaze. "It's your birthday today, you're four. Your dad is sad because four years ago you were born… Don't cry about it." Samara said rolling her eyes when she saw Jacob's eyes tear up.

"He's not sad," Jacob said softly. Samara ignored him. "He's not sad Samara! He's happy because I'm here and it's my birthday and I'm here. He's not sad!" Jacob suddenly started crying and covered his face with his hands. Samara sighed. She watched him for a moment.

"You're right Jake. He's not sad…I'm sorry, he's happy. Sure, your dad's happy all right. Don't cry anymore. I am sorry," She patted his back. "I got a present for you Jake, you wanna see it?"

Jacob stopped crying and looked at her through his fingers. "Where is it?" he asked with a sniff. Samara pointed up. "We can't go up there Samara, the ladders are too big for us."

"Not the ceiling silly. Come on I'll show you."

* * *

It was an emergency hatch only to be used in times of peril or if the elevator to the surface stopped working. In order to open the hatch without sounding and alarm a code had to be entered in a keypad on the wall. Samara knew the code. Jacob didn't know why Samara knew the code, but it was just understood that Samara knew many things that Jacob did not. The hatch opened with a strange hissing noise. On the other side was a small silver ladder that led up to another hatch, which Samara knew how to open. Perhaps Samara knew that on this particular day no one would be watching the emergency hatches and it was safe for her to carry out a plan that had been forming in her mind. The ladder was small enough for Jacob to get a good grip and steady himself. The two small children climbed and climbed. Jacob never said a word, whatever was happening was important and he followed Samara, trusting in her.

When the second hatch was opened Jacob was greeted with a blast of warm air. In surprise, he nearly slipped off the ladder. Samara climbed out, with Jacob scrabbling after her.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Samara asked in a somewhat dazed voice. Jacob didn't answer. The sun was bright in the sky and there were white clouds floating in the distance. Once Jacob had stopped looking at the sky he looked around him. There was rubble around him, everything was destroyed and Jacob shuddered. He put his hands over his eyes.

"I want to go back," Jacob stated, still covering his eyes. Samara gave him a reproachful look. She grabbed his hand from his face.

"Come on, Jacob. It'll be fun." She led him away through the debris. The two children walked for a very long time and Jacob stumbled more than once. They walked until there was no more debris. Samara led Jacob away into the trees. The last thing he saw before he went into brush was a broken down white sign. In faded letters, that Jacob couldn't read, were the words Pallet Town.

"It's dark and I'm cold. Can we go back now?"

"We aren't."

"Please Samara?"

"Jacob, you need to be strong."

"I want to go home."

"I had a dream about you. I saw a woman there. She told me that you were special and that you were strong…I didn't believe her."

"Samara."

* * *

The light had faded and Jacob found himself surrounded by dark trees. There was a sudden gust of wind and a rushing sound filled the trees. Samara and Jacob both stopped moving. Samara stepped closer to Jacob.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered.

* * *

"Ash, I want to show you something."

"What do you want, Brock?"

"Just come here, you have to see this," Brock waved at Ash to come over to the computer. There was a news article brought up on the screen. Ash didn't bother reading the article; his attention was brought to the image just below it. A woman, a man and a Meowth were pictured among the wreckage of a building. They were looking down at the ground and all appeared to be crying.

"Jessie and James," Ash said quietly.

"Do you know where they are, Ash?"

Ash stared for a moment, "Yeah, that's the same place they were when they took care of Jacob when he was a baby."

"The whole area was destroyed."

"When?"

"It happened yesterday. A bunch of Nazuk attacked them in the middle of the day."

"How did they survive?" Ash asked. It was a known fact that when the Nazuk attacked they rarely left survivors.

"Witnesses say that the attack was very fast and…disorganized. Everything was torn apart. They were… it was like they were looking for something. It seems that they have been going through the forest searching. Ash, are you listening?"

Ash had stopped breathing. The cabin where they had lived…something was missing from the picture. "They had a son…. Justin. Where…?"

"They killed them all, Ash. Killed all of the children and took the bodies. That's what they were looking for."

An alarm suddenly sounded and the image on Brock's computer screen was replaced with the message: Enemy Ship Approaching.

"No," Ash said in a hollow voice. "They didn't find what they were looking for. Brock," Ash suddenly looked around him, "where's Jacob?"

* * *

Jacob and Samara were running as fast as they could through the forest. Soon they stumbled upon the ruined city again. The things were coming. Jacob had not seen the things, but he knew they were there. In his heart he knew they were chasing him, they had always been chasing him. In the dark of the night he would often dream of the day when they found him and took him. Jacob was crying and unable to make his legs move properly. It was Samara who pulled him along; it was Samara who would save him. Jacob fell and, in his panic, could not get up again. Samara kneeled and stayed by his side. She shut her eyes and froze.

It was coming. The ground shook slightly. Jacob could hear a loud breathing sound. Then everything grew silent. A sudden feeling of hopelessness took Jacob and he felt a horrible pain in his stomach. The next thing he knew there was a loud explosion and Jacob was sent flying backwards into the ground. The world swirled and everything dimmed to darkness.

* * *

Someone was carrying Jacob. When he opened his eyes he saw the face of his Aunt staring down at him. She was running along with his father and a large panicked group of people. Ash pulled Daisy along trying to get ahead of all the other scattering people. Jacob's vision began to blur. He could see his Aunt's eyes staring at him. Jacob became confused trying to understand what had happened. _My Okaasan... my mommy_, he thought before his vision completely blurred and he fell into darkness.

"Your son has endangered the whole base!"

"Your daughter was right there with him!"

"Samara is innocent! You let your son run all over this place!"

"She is not innocent! Your daughter ... She's older and a psychic!"

"My daughter is NOT psychic!"

"You-You're insane! You can't see what's right in front of your eyes!" Ash was shaking his head in disbelief. Samara's father, Jonathan Briggs was standing with his arms crossed. His daughter was standing by his knee, looking bored with the situation. Daisy was standing behind Ash, holding a crying Jacob in her arms.

"I can see perfectly fine! Your son went up to the surface without you even knowing about it! He has brought the enemy right to the base!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"He almost got my daughter killed! You don't watch him! You shouldn't be allowed to have a child!"

Ash was at a lost for words. He began clenching and unclenching his fists.

Jonathan continued ranting, "If that boy comes near my daughter again, I will see to it that he gets taken away! You'll never see him again!"

"Daddy," Samara suddenly interrupted, "let's go," she said quietly and then turned to leave. Her father seemed suddenly very uncomfortable and then he turned to follow his daughter.

* * *

"It will only be for a little while, just until things quiet down around here. I think you'll like it Jacob. He lives on an island and we get to take a boat to get there. You've never been on a boat, it will be fun." Ash was rambling on while Jacob followed behind dragging a suitcase and a backpack.

"Here let me get that," Ash reached down and took the suitcase from Jacob. "My friend will take care of you. He's a Pokemon Researcher, you like Pokemon. It'll be fun."

Jacob walked slowly behind his father not listening to what he was saying. Suddenly someone was walking beside Jacob, matching his pace. It was Samara.

"Here Jacob, it's a present" She said handing him a small brown pouch that had a string attached to it so it could be worn around Jacob's neck. Jacob took it and stared at it blankly. "Open it," Samara ordered. Jacob turned it upside down and shook it's contents into his hand. A small light blue stone tumbled out of the pouch. Jacob stared in silence. "I have one too," Samara said showing him a small stone that she had made a necklace out of. "I made them. See, when I think of you, your stone will glow and if you think of me, mine will glow. This way we won't ever forget about each other."

Jacob put the stone back into the pouch, "I won't forget. Samara...I think... I think you're my best friend," Jacob said simply. Samara smiled, "You're my only friend Jacob. Good-bye." Samara gave Jacob a kiss on the cheek and then quickly ran off. Ash turned around and looked at his son. "You don't need to worry Jacob, you'll be fine."

Jacob slowly nodded, clutching tightly to the gift around his neck.

TO BE CONTINUED...

This may take a while...


	30. Jacob's Eevee

Jacob's Eevee

Ash carried Jacob out of the small boat and sat him down on the dock with his suitcase. There was a man waiting for them. Ash nodded at him and he nodded back. They both seemed rather awkward and Jacob could sense the tension in the air. The stranger broke the silence first, "So, is this him then?" he said in reference to Jacob.

"Yeah," Ash said and then stooped down to be closer to Jacob's level. "Jacob, this is my friend, his name's Gary. He's going to look out for you for a while, OK?" Jacob looked down at the ground and did not answer. Ash stood up and looked at Gary who was examining Jacob.

"He really looks like you," Gary said.

"Yeah, I know."

"I'll take care of him."

"Yeah, I know," Ash began to turn to leave, but Jacob wrapped his arms around his legs. "Jacob… What? What do you want?" Ash stooped down again. "We talked about this. You'll be safer here."

Jacob slowly looked up at his father, "Will you come back?" he said with tears forming in his eyes.

"Of course I will, don't worry about it. I promise, OK? I promise," Ash said ruffling his son's hair. Jacob just looked down at his shoes again. The two were both quiet for a moment. "I know," Ash suddenly said as he turned and unclipped his old hat from his belt loop. "Here you can hang on to this for me," he said putting the hat on Jacob's head and turning it backwards. "You have to take care of this for me until I come back, OK? It's my favorite, you know? I wouldn't just leave it without coming back for it, you know?"

Jacob nodded, but still didn't look up. Ash stood up and looked at Gary, "I'll try to get a message through to you when I can," Ash turned to leave.

"Hey Ash, wait."

"What is it Gary?"

"You've changed a lot," Gary stated bluntly. Ash looked back at Gary, holding his gaze for a moment and then looked away.

"Yeah, I know." Ash slowly began to walk back down the dock towards the boat. He never looked back.

* * *

"This will be your room," Gary said after the gray door slid open. Jacob hadn't noticed much of his new surroundings. Gary had led him into a large building, through multiple hallways until they had come to a large gray door. With a push of a button the door slid open to reveal a plain gray bedroom. There was a dresser, a bed and a window. Jacob's new home was above the ground and the window was a new concept to him. Bright sunlight lit up his surroundings. "Would you like to unpack?" Gary asked setting the small suitcase down on the bed. It was the largest bed Jacob had ever seen. He took off his backpack and dropped it on the floor. Without looking at Gary, Jacob kneeled and peered underneath his new bed. "What are you looking for, Jake?" Gary asked with a smile. Jacob scrunched up his face and didn't answer, and then he slipped underneath the bed and stayed there.

"Come on, It's not that bad, is it? I've bet you've never had such a big bed to yourself? Please come out." Gary begged him softly. Jacob refused to look at him and moved just out of Gary's reach. He wasn't going to come out. "Fine, whatever," Gary mumbled. He got up off the floor and left the room. Soon the light from the window faded and Jacob was alone in the dark. The world darkened, but under the bed a very faint blue light began to glow. Jacob held in his hand a small blue stone and it shone softly in the dark. Samara was thinking about him.

The door slid open and Jacob quickly slipped the stone back into the pouch around his neck. He heard someone's footsteps, a light turned on and then someone was kneeling by the bed. Jacob shut his eyes and didn't move. Then something wet touched his cheek. Jacob let out a yelp and scrambled away as fast as he could. He hit one of the bed's legs and looked around wildly. There sat a very small Eevee. It was looking at him quizzically. The Eevee walked over and nuzzled Jacob's face, his wet nose brushing Jacob's cheek.

Slowly Jacob emerged from under the bed, holding the small Eevee in his arms. Gary was sitting on the floor waiting for him. Jacob looked at Gary and back at Eevee.

"He's yours, you know."

"Mine?" It was the first word Jacob had spoken to Gary.

"Yeah, he's still a baby so you have to take good care of him. How old are you Jacob?"

"Four."

"That's old enough to have a Pokemon. Eevee's yours then."

"I'm a … a… Pokemon trainer?" Jacob asked as Eevee licked his face.

"Yeah, you are. You think you can handle that?"

Jacob looked down at the Eevee squirming in his arms and nodded. "Are you a real Pokemon trainer, Gary? Did you catch Eevee like a real trainer?" Jacob suddenly was very bright and full of questions. Gary looked surprised that the child had so suddenly opened up.

"You know what? Your dad told me you were smart, but I guess I didn't believe him. What kind of four year-old knows about Pokemon trainers?" Gary said shaking his head. For a moment Jacob looked worried that he had said something wrong, but then Gary smiled. "I am a trainer, well I was anyway. Things are different lately. I didn't catch Eevee, I found him. There was this bad storm a few weeks back and some wild Pokemon on the island got hurt or lost. This little Eevee lost his mother."

"He lost her?" Jacob asked. Gary looked uncomfortable.

"Yeah, he did."

Jacob lifted Eevee in the air and looked at him. "That's OK Eevee, I lost my mom too."

* * *

The days that followed were the happiest Jacob had ever experienced. He ran outside in the sunshine with Eevee at his side. The island was full of fields, forests and streams that were all waiting to be explored. Gary let him go wherever he wanted, feeling he would be safe since there was no danger on the island. There was only one place Jacob didn't go and that was into the hills where there were caves.

"What's in the dark caves?" Jacob asked one day while walking through the fields with Gary.

"What? Well, that's a good question. I don't really know for sure, but I'll tell you what I think. You can't tell anyone this, OK?"

Jacob nodded eagerly.

"A long time ago, before people went to live underground, there were powerful Pokemon. They were legendary. Has your father ever told you about them?"

Jacob shook his head and then stopped, "He told me about a big bird Pokemon once. He said it came out of the water."

"Right, well, that's one yeah. Anyway, a few years ago, before you were born, all signs of the legendary Pokemon vanished. Some believe that they were destroyed, but that's not what I think. The legendaries aren't gone, but they've gone into hiding. They're keeping a few certain places safe from harm. This island, for example, has never been attacked; it has always been safe. We can't explain it, but I believe there is something here protecting it. The caves in the hills are the only places that no one goes. There are things there that no one even believes exist anymore."

"Can I go?" Jacob asked hopefully. Gary laughed.

"Someday maybe will both go up and take a look, but I doubt will find anything."

* * *

"Jacob, why don't you want to go to sleep?" Gary asked in exasperation. The child kept leaving his room and refused to stay in bed. Eevee sat on a pillow looking upset, unable to sleep due to his master's uneasiness.

"I can't tell you, Joozu."

"What? Why can't you?"

Jacob began crying, "I'm sacred, please don't make me sleep, Joozu, please."

"Did you have a nightmare? I think your dad said something about that before you came. You don't need to be scared here, OK?"

Jacob just sniffed and looked at the ceiling.

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep; you don't need to be scared. Nothing will hurt you here. You're safe."

Jacob nodded and slowly shut his eyes.

To be continued……….

A/N: More to come soon... hopefully…


	31. The World Turned Upside Down

A/N: Guess what I'm not dead. In the story a few months have passed between this chapter and the last. So Jacob is a bit older now.

Do you wonder how Jacob got so screwed up? Most of the answer is in this chapter. Read on my dear…

The World Turned Upside Down

_Jacob…Jacob…hear me… please hear me…I'm frightened…please…Jacob…_

Jacob awoke with a start. It was completely silently in his room and it was dark except for the glow that came from the stone around his neck.

* * *

"Joozu!" Jacob called softly down the dark hallway. Carrying his Eevee, he walked towards the light at the end of the corridor. As he approached he could hear voices talking rapidly back and forth. He recognized them.

"Check your own scanners, if you don't believe me."

"There's only one ship circling… It's nothing to worry about."

"That's how it started here. Now everything's gone wrong. Gary they're going to attack. In a few minutes there will be more ships. You have to get out now."

"Ash…"

"I'm trying to get out now, but people are acting stupid. Some people are refusing to leave."

"Ash-"

"They're going to break the surface soon. I'm coming to get Jacob. I'll be at the dock."

There was a sudden loud noise and the voices stopped talking. Jacob crept into the room to see Gary peering at a screen of static. There were others in the room as well. All of them were hunched over screens and computers. Gary swore loudly.

"Joozu…" Jacob said softly. Gary whirled around and looked at the small boy. "Was that my dad?" Jacob asked quietly.

"Jacob I want you to go back to your room. I will be there in a minute."

"Joozu…" Jacob began. There was a loud beep from one of the computers.

"There are two more ships!" Someone shouted. Gary glanced at the computers and then at Jacob.

"Jacob…listen very carefully…go back to your room, pack your bags and stay there. I will come and get you and then we will go and meet your dad. Do you understand me?"

Jacob nodded.

* * *

The ground began to shake and the walls shuddered. Gary pulled Jacob along quickly. Jacob desperately clutched Eevee in one arm, afraid he might drop him. There was a sudden explosion that nearly knocked them both to the floor. An alarm sounded and red lights began flashing. Things were moving very quickly and Gary was swearing under his breath repeatedly. There were more explosions and a computerized voice joined the sound of the alarm.

_Emergency shut down has been initiated. Evacuate all areas. Emergency shut down has been initiated…_

A door suddenly slid down from the ceiling and blocked the hallway. "Alright… new plan then." Gary mumbled. He turned around and took Jacob down a different hallway. The walk was long and occasionally another barrier would appear in front of them. More exits were being cut off and finally Gary had to take a passage of stairs down into the basement.

"Joozu, what happened? Why can't we go through the hall anymore?" Jacob inquired curiously.

"It's an emergency shut down. Something must have got in." They reached the end of the stairs. They were in a large storage room full of boxes and dust. "Look Jacob," Gary said, pointing to a small window near the ceiling of the basement that was level with the ground outside.

Gary began moving and stacking boxes until he made a sort of stairway to the window. He carefully climbed the boxes until he reached the top. Then he attempted to unlatch the window. It was stuck. He growled angrily, shook the latch, hit it and then cursed at it. Finally the latch turned and the window opened with a creak. He then clambered down the boxes and picked up Jacob and Eevee and carried them to the top. Gary set them down carefully in front of the now open window.

"Take off your backpack, you won't be able to fit otherwise," Gary commanded. Jacob did as he was told and Gary slipped the small bag through the window and onto the grass just outside. Gary then turned to Jacob and stared right into his eyes. "I need you to listen very carefully. This is very important. Do you understand?"

Jacob nodded.

"Once you get outside, go straight. You'll find a stream. Follow the water. It will eventually take you to the ocean. Your father will be waiting for you. If he isn't there, then you need to hide until he finds you. Do you understand?"

Jacob shook his head.

Gary sighed impatiently, "What don't you understand?"

"Aren't you coming too?" Jacob asked pleadingly.

"No Jacob, I can't. The window is too small. You'll be fine. Just do what I said."

"I don't want to go alone."

"You're not alone. You have Eevee and your dad's out there waiting for you."

Jacob looked at Gary and then looked out the window. "I had a dream like this. Joozu it wasn't good. It was a bad dream. I'm too sacred to go." He shut his eyes and began to cry.

"Don't cry Jacob. You need to be strong right now. Do you understand?"

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Someday you will."

"Promise?"

"…I promise." Gary reached forward to ruffle Jacob's hair, but Jacob surprised him by collapsing into him in an embrace. Gary returned the hug awkwardly. "Don't be afraid, you will be protected."

Eevee went through the window first and then Jacob followed quickly after. "Jake?" Gary said through the window. Jacob looked around at him. "Take care of Eevee, and Eevee, you protect Jacob. You need to run as fast as you can. Understand?"

Jacob nodded.

The next few moments went by in a blur. Before he knew it, Jacob had found the stream. He followed it, occasionally stepping into it when the bank became too narrow. His heart was pounding and he felt sick. Tears streamed down his face, but no sobs escaped him. He could hear loud noises off in the distance. Explosions, people yelling and other sounds he did not recognize. He ran as fast as he could, but soon his side was aching and he was beginning to stumble over every step. Just when he thought he couldn't run anymore he saw a figure ahead of him standing near the stream. It was blurry but it was there. He stopped running and blinked his eyes, trying to clear his vision. The figure then turned to him and Jacob heard a gasp. It was his father. Ash began to run towards him. Jacob ran forward, "Don't leave me again … don't ever leave me…" he sobbed between breaths. Darkness began to overtake him and the last thing he remembered was falling into his father's embrace.

* * *

When Jacob awoke he found himself lying down on some sort of couch. He raised his head and realized he was in the cabin of a small boat. It seemed to him that it was docked because he didn't feel like they were moving across the ocean. He slowly raised his head and looked. His Eevee was asleep near his head. Jacob lifted himself up and groggily made his way out of the cabin.

* * *

"Jacob, stay here, alright?" Ash said. After docking the boat, Ash had taken Jacob down the through the destroyed buildings of what was once Pallet town. They came to the emergency hatch that lead underground to the base. Ash carefully made his way down the ladder while half carrying Jacob. After a very long time of climbing, Ash reached the end of the ladder. He set Jacob down in the dark hallway and told him to stay.

"No, take me with you Daddy!"

"Stay Jacob. I need to go pick up some things."

"It's dark, I don't want to be alone, Daddy!"

"Eevee is with you, you are not alone. I'll be right back." Ash then quickly began to walk away, not looking back.

* * *

Time was slowly slipping by. In the pit of his stomach Jacob knew something was terribly wrong. It was too quiet. Eevee sat nervously by his feet. Jacob was staring hard at the pouch around his neck. The gift he received from Samara. Slowly he opened the pouch and slid the stone out into his hand. In the dark Jacob could barely make it out. The stone did not glow. Instead it seemed to have grown dark. It was to quiet and the silence was suffocating him. He needed to leave, he needed to find his Father… Samara.

Jacob suddenly bolted. He left the darkened hallway, passing darkened rooms. Why was it so quiet? Where was everyone? Why was everything so dark? Jacob stumbled and fell. He tried to catch his breath. There was light somewhere above him. He looked up. A flickering lamp cast an unsettling glow around him. He could see the hallway ended and opened up. He was near the market area. He knew that if he continued to walk, he would be near his father's work. Jacob ran forward, blinking his eyes trying to see in the dim light.

He was running so hard that when he tripped over something he was caught completely off guard. He fell to the ground hard and didn't move. Eevee was able to catch up to him and quickly stopped at his master's side, nuzzling him to make sure he was unharmed. Jacob almost had the wind knocked out of him. He rolled over onto his back and looked over to see what he had tripped over.

Legs… he had tripped over a man's legs. The man was just lying there, without moving. Eevee whimpered and nuzzled Jacob's hand. Jacob slowly sat up and began to push himself backward away from the unmoving form. He hadn't moved far when something blocked his path. He turned to see another man, cold and unmoving in Jacob's path. Jacob let out a struggled gasp and slowly moved away from the man. He stared at the man's face. There was blood there; he had been hit in the head by something. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes were staring. An empty, unblinking stare that was unaware of the young boy, unaware of the man's blood pooling on the floor. Jacob choked and moved his mouth, but no sound would come out. He tried again.

"_Help…Daddy…_" Jacob choked out, unable to break his gaze from the man on the floor. He needed his father to come back, his father needed to save him. No one could hear Jacob's words. His quiet pleadings for his father were never heard by any living human. As time passed Jacob felt a strong urge to run. If he didn't run away now he would never be able to close his eyes again. Jacob shut his eyes and, without looking, stood up. He clasped his hands over his eyes and began to run. He didn't get very far before he tripped again. He let out a cry, but kept his eyes tightly shut. He scrambled to find his footing and kept on running.

Jacob stumbled again and again. He couldn't run anymore. Very slowly he found his balance and stood up. He couldn't catch his breath. His heart was pounding so hard he was sure it would break his ribs. He took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. It was dim, but soon his eyes adjusted and forms began to take shape. On the ground all around him there were people. All of them were cold and unmoving. They surrounded him, blocked his path there was no way to get out. Eevee huddled at Jacob's feet. Jacob turned around in a circle. There were so many faces, too many. There were too many eyes on him.

He felt like he couldn't catch his breath and then he suddenly saw a light. Ignoring the staring eyes he moved toward the faint bluish light. Slowly, he inched his way, careful not to touch anyone. When the light was at its brightest, he looked down to see the source.

It was coming from a small stone, which hung around the neck of a young girl.

"Sa-Samara?" Jacob whispered in a hushed voice. He knelt down and for a long time just stared at the girl. Her eyes were closed. Jacob reached forward and touched her arm. She was cold. She was like the others. She would never move again, she would never open her eyes again. "I-I'm sorry Samara," Jacob whispered, "I'm so sorry." Tears fell down Jacob's cheeks and wet Samara's arm. Then Jacob sobbed. There were many times in his life that he had cried, but never like this. His sobs racked his body, escaping him as if they were being torn from him. They soon became more like choked screams. He no longer could breathe. His world was darkening and the last thing he could remember before losing consciousness was tightening his grip around the small blue stone around Samara's neck.

_To Be Continued………._


	32. Begin Again

**Begin Again**

After some searching, Ash found Jacob clinging to Samara. Even in his seemingly unconsciousness, Jacob would not release Samara. Ash eventually pried the child away from his dead friend and carried him away, down the darkened hallways up the ladder and back onto the surface. Ash now carried a pack on his back. All of his possessions were in that pack. Ash then began walking. He walked out of the decaying town and towards the bay with Eevee following closely behind him.

After retrieving several items from the boat, including Jacob's pack, Ash set off again on foot. He soon found himself on a road going west. With no particular purpose in mind he followed the road. Soon, he found himself among other travelers, most were homeless, carrying with them all of their possessions. Jacob stirred, but would not open his eyes. Ash thought he might be awake, but the child made no noise. Night came upon them, but Ash did not seem to notice. He walked quickly and steadily until the road split and he silently followed his path into the forest.

"Hey, you there! Do you know where you're going?" A man called.

In the middle of the forest there was a large gray structure that Ash was slowly walking around. Ash turned toward the man who had suddenly called out to him. The man was standing in a doorway and was wearing a white lab coat. Ash shook his head.

"I… I'm looking for survivors from Pallet. I think the designated meeting place was around here but…" Ash trailed off.

"Ash? Ash Ketchum? Is that really you?" The man said with a sudden grin. He rushed forward with his arms outstretched in welcome. Ash, caught off guard, stumbled back.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Ash asked. The man's grin faded for an instant, but then quickly returned.

"So sorry, it's been years and years hasn't it? I've kept track of you, I have. You were on Television a few years ago. You're the last Pokemon Master! Of course you wouldn't remember me. It was so long ago and so much has happened. I suppose you wouldn't remember how you helped me back then when we met…when I was in the lighthouse. It is wonderful to see you again. This is splendid! How-"

"Bill?" Ash asked, his memory finally catching up with the situation.

"You do remember! Wonderful! Do you remember when we saw each other a few years ago? It was right before you became a Pokemon Master," Bill began rocking back and forth on his heels, seemingly too excited to stand still.

"Sort of…" Ash said distractedly, "Bill do you know where the people from Pallet are?"

"Of course, they're just a little further down the path, in the next meadow, I believe. Ash, is this your son?" Bill questioned, taking note of the sleeping child in Ash's arms. "I've heard about him too, of course. The stories I've heard!"

"Stories?"

"You must come see me at the lab once you are settled. I would love to show you my latest work. I believe you'll find it fascinating!"

"Yeah, sure. It's further down the path?"

"Oh yes, everyone from Pallet is to go to the next meadow and report in. I've been seeing people walk by all day. It's all very terrible. You must come see me when you get a chance, you can bring your son if you would like," Bill said still grinning.

"Thanks, I'll do that," Ash muttered as he walked away.

* * *

"ASH! JACOB! You made it!"

Ash had just begun to enter the Pallet meeting site when he heard a familiar voice squealing at him. "I was so worried about you both!" Daisy exclaimed as she ran up to them.

The Pallet meeting site was a group of tents located in a meadow. Not far was an abandoned town that was being used to shelter those without homes. "I knew you would be coming soon. I already set everything up. You just have to check in and then I can show you where were going to be staying!" Daisy chirped happily.

"Daisy, who else is here? Is Brock or Tracey here?" Ash asked urgently, concerned for his friends. Daisy tilted her head to the side.

"I think they're both with Ritchie at the medical center."

"What? Are they hurt?" Ash demanded. Daisy was suddenly caught off by a sudden yell from Jacob. He began screaming and flailing his arms. Ash struggled to keep a hold on him. Among his frantic cries Ash could make out the word Okaasan, Jacob's nickname for his Aunt Daisy. Jacob seemed to be trying to throw himself out of Ash's arms and towards Daisy. Through his sudden outburst, Jacob kept his eyes tightly shut. Daisy reached out and took Jacob from Ash. Jacob immediately calmed down.

"Well, he likes you at least…" Ash mumbled.

"Hey Ash!" A voice called. Ash turned to see Brock walking towards him.

"Brock! You're OK!" Ash said smiling and walking toward his friend. Brock briefly smiled.

"I'm glad you're OK too. You're late you know, I was beginning to worry," Brock said, putting a hand on Ash's shoulder.

"So what's going on?" Ash asked. "Daisy said something about you being at the medical center."

"I'll tell you in a minute. You need to check in first and then I'll take you down there." Brock said, suddenly sounded very serious as he looked away.

"What's going on? Is Tracey OK? How bad is it?" Ash said furrowing his brow.

"Just check in. I'll tell you after."

"That bad, huh?"

* * *

"So what's going on?" Ash asked after he had been traveling with Brock for a few minutes in silence. Daisy had gone ahead with Jacob to their temporary home in the abandoned town. Pikachu was already at the house, having been entrusted into Daisy's care when Ash went to pick up Jacob. Brock and Ash were walking towards the town as well, but at a slower pace. Brock took a deep breath and sighed.

"You left when things were getting bad… Pallet is ruined," Brock said shaking his head.

"I know that, I went there after I got Jake. Everything is pretty much destroyed."

"I can't tell you exactly what happened. Everything went by in a blur. We were all going to get out. Tracey, Rich and me were all fine. But then…something happened, people started to panic. The ceiling started to come down. We got separated. I got out first, but when I realized I had lost the others, I went back for them." Brock paused and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, the story is mixed up. I'll I can remember is trying to find the others and being nearly trampled by a stampede of people. The reason why we got separated was because some rocks had fallen and they hit… they hit Ritchie. Tracey had stopped to help and I hadn't even noticed."

"Wait, had the Nazuk broken the surface yet? Were they in the base?" Ash asked.

"I don't think so, but there were so many things happening at once, they may have breached the ceiling by then. I don't know, I didn't see them. After I found Ritchie and Tracey, we got out of there. Ritchie was unconscious, so Tracey and I carried him here. He…" Brock trailed off unable to finish his sentence.

"Is he alright?" Ash asked while avoiding Brock's gaze.

"He has a concussion and he lost some blood. He should be fine as long as he can rest." Brock said with a sigh. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he should soon."

"Brock," Ash started, "If he's going to be OK, why didn't you tell me right away. The way you were talking I thought things were a lot worse."

"Ash," Brock shook his head, "he was hurt and he's stuck at the medical center. He will be fine unless…unless we are attacked. Don't you see Ash? If this place is attacked, Ritchie is going to have a hard time escaping. His chances aren't good."

Ash was silent for a moment. "I should take Jacob and leave then."

"What are you talking about?" Brock asked, confused.

"I think… I think Jacob is marked… I think he's the reason why Pallet was attacked."

"Don't be crazy." Brock responded quickly.

"It's true! They say Nazuk take children for their energy. That's why there aren't any little kids around. Nazuk take children, Brock. Once they see a child, they hunt it. They're after Jacob now, that's why wherever he goes their army follows him," Ash said all of this in a rush.

"That's ridiculous," Brock said shaking his head.

"No it's not! Think about it. Everywhere Jacob has gone has been destroyed."

"Why would they go to that much trouble for one child, Ash? Yes, it is said they go after children, but they have never followed a child for more than four years or even one year. Why would they be so determined to find Jacob? It doesn't make sense," Brock said exasperated.

"I don't know, I haven't figured that out yet," Ash said rubbing his hands over his eyes. There was a pause of silence. They had come to a small brick building, which was the first in a series of buildings.

"This is it. You want to see Ritchie?" Brock asked quietly.

"Of course I do," Ash responded. With that, both men walked into the medical center.

* * *

Ash, Daisy, Jacob and Pikachu were staying in a small abandoned house near the edge of town. The house hadn't been lived in for years and Daisy worked to make the place inhabitable again. She also spent much time trying to get Jacob to open up to her. Many days had passed and Jacob did not speak a word. He would sit for hours, silently staring into space. At night he would wake up crying, but he wouldn't tell anyone what he had dreamed.

Daisy questioned Ash about Jacob's behavior, but Ash would never give a straight answer. Ash was gone most of the time, either visiting Ritchie at the medical center or taking walks around the town. He mentioned going to see an old friend named Bill once, but he didn't tell Daisy anything about it. On the seventh day, Jacob finally responded to Daisy's attempts to get him to talk.

"Jake! Guess what I just realized! I was thinking about it today and you're birthday is coming up! Isn't that exciting? You're going to be five! You're such a big boy now. Isn't that great?" She smiled at Jacob from across the table where they were both eating dinner. Jacob stared at his plate silently, not making any attempt to eat the food before him. "Time has just been going by so quickly. You'll be all grown up soon," Daisy continued merrily. Jacob clenched his fists. His Eevee looked nervous from his position on the floor. The more his Aunt talked the more Jacob became on edge. "Five years! It feels like just the other day you were turning four. Amazing how fast things change, isn't it Jake?" It seemed that Daisy might ramble on forever, when Jacob had suddenly had enough. He stood up in his chair, grabbed his plate and threw it to the side. By the time it hit the wall with a crash, Jacob was already reaching for his water glass. Once he got a hold of it, he threw that as well. The eating utensils also ended thrown against the wall.

"Jacob!" Daisy yelled shrilly. Now that he was out of things to throw, Jacob jumped down from the chair and took off running, yelling very clearly, "I hate it! I hate it! I don't want to be five! I hate it!" It was the first time he had spoken in days. After that incident, things were silent again and Daisy no longer tried speaking to Jacob to get him to talk or open up.

"Are you going to talk to him?" Daisy asked impatiently.

"No," Ash responded.

"He threw a plate…"  
"I know."

"…and his glass. You're really not going to talk to him?"  
"Why don't you talk to him? I haven't spoken to him at all. At least he yelled at you."

"Yelling isn't talking."

"Just leave him alone. He'll come around."

* * *

It was dark and the night was quiet. It was warmer than usual and everyone was asleep. Jacob twitched, murmuring quietly as he rolled over in his sleep. Off in the distance there was a loud explosion. For a moment afterward the world stood still. Ash Ketchum sat up abruptly in his bed. There was another far off explosion. Ash drew in his breath, listening carefully. Another explosion and somewhere in the dark Jacob started screaming.

To Be continued….

A/N: I am SO SORRY this took like a year. If there is anyone still out there…. Mewberries? College has been a killer, sorry. I will finish, even if it takes a long time. We're drawing towards the end though. I want to finish. I just realized that I've been having problems seperating different sections. Usually I put astericks to represent a lapse in time. I just figured out that thye haven't been showing up on I am doing my best to fix it.

BTW, we have now reached over 70,000 words. Yay.


	33. Go Back

**Go Back**

Ash ran around Jacob's room in the dark, shoving clothes into his son's backpack. Pikachu followed his trainer anxiously. Eevee was staring nervously from the foot of Jacob's bed and all the while, Jacob was thrashing and yelling as if he was trying to defend himself against something. It was at this moment that Daisy burst into the room, carrying a flashlight and looking frantic.

"What is going on?" Daisy asked in a shrill voice.

"We have to go!" Ash said sharply, "Here!" he tossed a red and black striped shirt and jean shorts at Daisy, "Change him out of his pajamas." Ash said motioning toward Jacob with a nod of his head.

"Why?" Daisy asked looking at the clothes, "What is going on?"

Ash stopped moving for a moment and took a deep breath. He turned very slowly toward her.

"Something is coming. Something bad… and we need to leave," Ash said each word carefully as he stared at Daisy intensely. Greatly unnerved, Daisy nodded slightly.

"Help me get Jake ready. Then get your stuff and we're leaving, understand?" Daisy nodded and without further question, she went to Jacob's side to quiet him down.

* * *

Ash had said he would be right back. He had left to the medical center to warn everyone that something was coming. Not that he needed to. Everyone had heard the explosions and most people were standing outside of their homes and looking around in bewilderment. Daisy walked slowly down the road holding Jacob's hand. Jacob had his backpack on and was carrying his Eevee in his arms. The night was now eerily silent. No wind blew, no living thing made a sound in the surrounding forest.

"Okaasan…" Jacob whispered. Daisy smiled down at the boy.

"How about we wait here for your Dad. He'll see us when he comes out of the medical center," she chirped in a false, cheerful voice. They stood for a moment until Jacob broke the silence.

"Okaasan… I have a present for you."

"Jake…" This was the most he had willingly spoken to her in quite sometime. She tried to hide her surprise at his sudden statement. "What do you mean Jake?"

Jacob sat his Eevee down and then slipped his backpack off. He started rummaging through it until he pulled out a small brown pouch. He opened it and emptied its contents into his hand. There were two small, light blue stones. One was attached to a broken string. He then held his hand up to Daisy, showing her the broken necklace.

"This one is for you," he said.

"It's beautiful, Jake. Where'd you get it?" Daisy asked as she took the small stone from him. Jacob paused to slip his stone back into the pouch and then pull the pouch over his head.

"Samara," he answered quietly.

"What?" Daisy asked, unsure of what he was saying.

"Okaasan, they're special stones, OK? See, when I think of you, your stone will glow and if you think of me, mine will glow, OK?"

"Oh," Daisy exclaimed, "Do they really work, Jake?"

"Yeah, they really work. Even if we're far apart."

"Really? That's amazing."

"Yeah… it is.

* * *

Daisy had tied the stone around her wrist, promising she would take care of it. After that they had stood in silence until Ash and Pikachu finally came back.

"I've warned everyone, Brock's going to take care of Ritchie. Let's go." Ash said as he started walking down the path.

"Where are we going?" Daisy asked, following closely behind.

"Bill's lab. I have to talk-" Ash was interrupted by a loud explosion. The night sky lit up for a second and then there was a moment of silence. Pikachu huddled himself down on Ash's shoulder. "We have to go," Ash said in a voice barely above a whisper. Suddenly another explosion sounded.

"It's coming from in front of us, we can't go that way," Daisy said fearfully. A third explosion went off, this time it was to their right. Then there was a fourth to their left. Ash grabbed Daisy's Arm and pulled her forward.

"We _have_ to go this way. They want us to run the other way, don't you see. It's a trap. It's safer to walk towards the noises."

"Wh-what? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? How do you even _know_ something like that!" Daisy asked, nearly completely losing it.

"It's just a feeling I have. Now, come _on_!" Ash dragged her and she pulled Jacob with her. The explosions continued. They were everywhere. Daisy had to pick Jacob up so that she could run. The whole time, Ash urged her to go faster.

* * *

They had gone off of the path and they were now wandering through the woods in the dark.

"Ash, do you know where you're going?" Daisy asked in a low voice. Ash didn't answer. An explosion suddenly went off that was so close they were nearly knocked to the ground. Then they were running blindly in the dark. Daisy tripped and rolled on the ground with Jacob and Eevee in her arms. Ash was only separated from them for a moment. He quickly backtracked and found them on the ground.

"Are you hurt?" he whispered. Daisy shook her head, forgetting that it was too dark to really see. "Jake, are you hurt?" Ash asked.

"No," came the soft reply.

"Stay still for a minute and be quiet." Ash said suddenly. The only sound was their breathing and then another explosion, this one farther away.

"What's going on?" Daisy asked.

"They're close. They know we're here, they're just not sure where…" Ash trailed off and then it seemed like he was trying to decide something.

"Daisy, I need you to listen to me. I need you to run as fast as you can with Jacob. I need you to run to the old laboratory."

"Ash," Daisy tried to interject.

"When you get there, ask for Bill. Tell him I sent you. Tell him _we_ need to go with the plan that we talked about."

"Ash what do you mean?"

"Just tell him things have turned out for the worse and I need him to do what he said he would do. He'll know what you mean."

"I don't underst-"

"Just do it."

"Wha-what are you going to do, Ash?" Daisy asked, her voice shaking. There was a pause and then Ash spoke.

"I'm going to distract them,"

"You-you can't! Ash you don't have any weapons or anything!"

"Shhhh," Ash shushed her. They sat in silence for a long time. The explosions even halted for a time. "I just need to distract them long enough for you to get Jacob to safety."

"How?" She demanded. Ash paused and Daisy realized he was smiling in the darkness.

"I'll figure it out, I always do." Ash turned his head toward Pikachu, "Buddy, I need you to go with Daisy and Jake."

"Pikachu Pikapi," Pikachu stated.

"I want you to stay with them," there was a pause where Pikachu clung tighter to Ash and murmured a soft, "Pika pikapi." Ash paused and let out a sigh.

"OK then. One last big adventure together it is."

Jacob had been staring for a long time at Ash. He forced his eyes to adjust to the darkness and he watched as his father patted Pikachu with a shaking hand.

"Alright then, I've gotta go…. Jake be good and stay with Daisy." Ash said softly. Jacob pulled himself away from his Aunt and stared hard at his father.

"Daddy… you can't… you can't go," Jacob stammered grabbing his father's sleeve. "You're going to leave… again, b-but when are you… are… you going to come back?" Not being able to help himself, Jacob started crying. Eevee cooed gently form his place on the ground.

"Of course I will, don't worry about it. I promise, OK? I promise," Ash paused for a moment and then reached into his back pocket and pulled out his worn out hat. "It's a promise. You have to take care of this for me until I come back, OK? Just like before when I left you with Gary," he said as he put the hat on Jacob's head and turning it backwards, "I'll come back. I promise we'll see each other again," Ash said as he outlined his son's face with his finger. Jacob suddenly collapsed into his father's lap, sobbing now.

"Don't cry… don't cry little one," Ash's voice betrayed him as it cracked. "I'm sorry, my boy, I'm so sorry…. I… I love you… and you deserved so much better than me."

In the silent dark, as the world stood still… Ash's tears fell silently down his face as he held his only son. It was over too quickly. Ash was pulling away, pushing Jacob away from him.

"Stay with your Okaasan, she'll take care of you," Ash said thickly. Jacob didn't even have time to protest before Ash was on his feet. "Run as fast as you can," and then Ash turned and ran into the night, Pikachu clinging to his shoulder.

* * *

Daisy didn't know what Ash had done, but shortly after he left, there were a lot more explosions. She ran as fast as she could through the dark. Trying to ignore the sounds of fighting and the far off screams. Jacob was crying in her arms, clutching his Eevee tightly to his chest. Finally the trees cleared and the lab loomed before them. Without hesitation, Daisy ran up and began hammering on the door. It soon opened and there stood a man.

"Are you Bill?" Daisy demanded.

"Y-yes, I am… How…May I be of service to you?" Bill asked slightly startled.

"Ash sent me… he said things have turned for the worse and that you need to … you need to do what you said you would… or something. He said you would know!"

Bill looked them over, his eyes resting for a minute on the sobbing Jacob. "I thought this might happen… I suppose I did make a promise. Come in, everything is ready."

* * *

"It's a process we've been working on for some time. My assistant and I haven't finished testing it fully, but Ash seemed so…oh… I don't know… _desperate_ I suppose. He made a plan and then he made me promise that I would carry it out no matter what. I was concerned of course, I mean, a human has never attempted _time traveling_ before…"

"That-That's what this is? _Time traveling_?" Daisy asked astonished.

"Of course… you didn't know?" Bill asked surprised. Daisy shook her head.

"Well, it's a simple process really. It's still highly unreliable though," Bill opened a door with a key card and showed Daisy through.

"What was the plan? What was Ash's plan? What did he want to do? Was- was he going to try and change the past?" Daisy asked, her mind doing everything it could to comprehend what she was being told.

"The past? Don't be silly. You can't change the past… at least, it's not recommended. Ash's plan was to go forward. Well, actually, to send Jacob forward…"

"_What_?"

"Forward to a hopefully brighter future, I believe that is how he said it. Here we are!" Bill made a dramatic sweep with his arm, showing off a large computer that was connected with wires to a small circular platform. Another man stood beside the platform, looking confused at the guests. "This is my assistant, Martin. Martin! It seems things have gone badly! We're going to go through with the plan." Bill said enthusiastically. Martin nodded and stepped over to the computer where he began pressing buttons.

"OK then, the process is simple, place the child on the platform, a glass casing will come down and then he will be transported. It's very simple."

Daisy shifted Jacob in her arms, but made no move to put him on the platform. "How will we know if he makes it?" Daisy asked nervously.

"Well, we won't really-" A sudden explosion from outside cut Bill off mid-sentence. An alarm went off and red lights began flashing. "We seem to be under attack. We have to move quickly." There was a sudden noise that sounded like lasers. "Oh dear…"

Daisy quickly rushed forward and placed Jake down on the platform. "Okaasan!" Jacob cried.

"Shhh, Jacob it's going to be OK. I promise. Look." She held up her wrist, showing him the stone. It shone softly, illuminating everything around it in a blue glow. "You have to go away for a while, but I'll find you again. I promise… we just need to keep each other in our thoughts. I'll think about you until I find you and you will know it because your stone will glow too. Eevee is going to be with you. You can take care of each other. I promise to find you again… in the future." Daisy hugged Jacob tightly as tears fell down her face. "Be brave Jacob," She said as she let go. As soon as they were parted, a glass casing came down and created a wall between them. Jacob had one hand tightly wrapped around Eevee and he put his other hand against the glass. Daisy did the same. There were loud noises coming from somewhere near by. Bill told Daisy to push a button that was next to her.

"Okaasan…" Jacob sobbed.

"I love you, I love you, Jacob."

Tears were streaming down Daisy's face as she reached out and pushed some kind of button. Then everything went black, there were sounds of explosions and then, somewhere off in the distance, there was the sound of a woman screaming.

To be continued….

A/N: OMG, I am a sick person. I had so much fun writing this part. Please leave a review.


	34. To be Alone and Dark Descent

A/N: I know it's been a year since I updated. But it is finished. This is the last two chapters of Jacob's story. I would have posted sooner, but I wanted my brother to read it first because he has been with me since the beginning.

Here's a little bit on what is going on: Ash is just finishing up his vision of the future. Before the insanely long flashback/forward thing started Ash, Misty, Tracey and Jacob were hanging out in a Pokemon center, recovering from a Nazuk attack. Ash wakes up to find almost no time has passed… so his whole vision took place in a matter of minutes. The point of the vision was to show Ash why Jacob needed some power from him. Power was accidentally bestowed upon Ash when it was supposed to go to Jacob and Kasmira (The time-space guardian entity) wanted to show Ash the future in order to explain why he should give up his power to Jacob. So now Ash is back at the pokemon center and he is really confused. Which is where our chapter begins…

**To Be Alone**

There was the sensation of falling and then it felt like he was being roughly jerked away. Ash opened his eyes. He had never felt so dazed in his life. Kasmira stood before him.

"It has been decided," she whispered, "let time take its course."  
Everything was fading away. Ash felt as though he was just going to drift away. Then there was another sudden jerk and he slowly opened his eyes. Then complete panic struck him, where was he? What was going on? Blurry, everything was blurry. He was in bed, back in the room. It felt as if a long time had gone by, but he had never really left. Ash sat upright and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was already falling before he remembered that he was on the top bunk. Ash hit the floor with a loud thump and didn't move. He couldn't move. There was a paralyzing weakness that engulfed him. He suddenly felt nauseous. Very slowly he forced himself to sit up. With all the energy he had, he pulled himself up and looked at the bottom bunk. It was Jacob's bunk, but Jacob wasn't there.  
"M-Misty?" Ash called weakly. Ash turned his head to look where Misty had been sleeping. Tracey was gone, probably still taking a walk and Togepi was asleep on the top bunk, but Misty wasn't there. The feeling of nausea came again and Ash let himself slide down to the floor. He didn't have any energy. He wondered if he had truly passed power onto Jacob… it would certainly explain why he felt so terrible. Ash slowly rolled himself onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

_Where's Misty?_ Ash wondered. He couldn't hear anything. "Pikachu?" Ash tried, noticing that his constant companion was nowhere to be seen. Minutes passed and everything was beginning to come into focus. The room no longer blurred and Ash was beginning to feel a little stronger. Suddenly, he heard a cry of "Pikapi!" and then something yellow blocked his vision. Pikachu sat on Ash's chest and nuzzled his neck.

"There you are Pikachu," Ash whispered, bringing his arm up to hug his friend. "Where did you go?" Ash asked.

"Pika pikachupi," Pikachu said and then hopped off of Ash's chest.

Ash turned to look at Pikachu and then slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Somewhere with Misty?" He asked as he leaned against the bottom bunk. Pikachu nodded. "Is Jake with her?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded and then turned and ran toward the room's opened door. "Pikachu, wait up!" Ash called as he stumbled to his feet.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu called from the hallway.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

* * *

Ash winced in the bright sun. It felt like it had been years since he had journeyed outside. Once outside of the Pokemon Center, Pikachu darted into the forest, calling for Ash to follow him. Ash wasn't finding the trek easy. He felt as though he would soon collapse, but he forced himself to follow his friend into the woods. Some time went by and Ash began to feel as though his world was becoming unfocused again. Ash then suddenly realized that he couldn't see Pikachu anymore. Then, without warning, somebody pulled on his arm. Caught off guard, Ash tumbled over, landing flat on his back.

"Ash! Are you all right? You look terrible."

Ash blinked, bringing the face of Misty into focus. She was hovering over him looking worried. Suddenly all of the memories of the future came flooding back at once. The chaos, the fighting, so many people gone and Misty…

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall over," Misty said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I saw you coming… and I guess I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to get your attention…" Misty trailed off and they both fell into silence. Ash shifted from his position on the ground and slowly sat up. A moment went by before Ash broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Misty," Ash said while staring at the ground. There was a pause as Misty tried to look Ash in the eye.

"Sorry? About what, Ash?" Misty asked quietly. Ash sighed and continued to stare at the ground.

"I think…. I think I messed up. I don't really know why or how…. But I think I messed up really bad. I-I'm sorry… about Jacob and… and everything…" Ash trailed off seemingly unable to finish. He had seen his own future, a future that wouldn't include Misty. "I'm sorry that you … It's my fault. It's my fault…" Ash suddenly felt as though he was choking and he realized that he was crying. He covered his face with his hand. He didn't know what he was saying or what he was doing anymore. He felt completely lost. Ash took his hand away from his face and, trying to regain his composure, he looked at Misty. To his surprise, she was crying even more than he was. She then swiftly wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his shoulder.

"I-It's n-not your fault. Ash, It's not your fault," She said brokenly. "You're the one who saved Jacob in the end. He lived because of you."

Ash brought his hands to rest on Misty's shaking shoulders, "It wasn't me. It was her... Your sister, she saved him really."

Misty pushed herself away from Ash, meeting his gaze. She wiped at her eyes and shook her head, "You're the one that gave him a way to escape and you took care of him all along-"

"I don't think I was very good at it," Ash said, cutting her off.

"You were good enough."

Ash became silent and looked away from Misty. The adult Ash that had been shown to him seemed wrong. It was difficult to understand and even more difficult to put into words. He felt that this older self was a different person entirely. He couldn't see himself becoming that man. The man who became so depressed and angry, the man who fluctuated from ignoring Jacob to being highly defensive of him, the man who loved Misty so much that he found it difficult to live without her…

"So where is Jacob?" Ash asked, breaking the silence.

Misty looked past Ash and nodded. "In the clearing. He's just been standing there for a long time. I was going to go up to him, but I wanted to wait for you." Misty then looked at Ash, waiting for a response.

Ash resolutely stood up and offered his hand to Misty, "We'll go together."

* * *

The clearing wasn't much of a clearing anymore. It was actually a crater in the middle of the forest. It was the place where Jacob had had a run-in with the Nazuk and where Misty had found Ash earlier that morning. Misty found herself wondering if it really had been only a few hours ago that she had found Jacob by the river, mourning his Eevee. It felt more like it had been a lifetime ago, but here they were, revisiting the place that would surely give her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Jacob stood perfectly still in the very middle of the crater. Pikachu was standing beside him, watching him curiously. When Ash and Misty came up beside him, he made no move to acknowledge their presence. He was staring silently up at the sky with a blank expression on his face. Misty kneeled down in front of him and tried to get his attention.

"Jacob?" She asked. "Jake can you hear me?" But Jacob made no response. Ash kneeled down beside Misty and faced Jacob as well. "Um…. Jake?" he asked hesitantly. Again, there was no reaction. "What's wrong with him?" Ash asked, looking to Misty. Misty shook her head and began to study Jacob from head to foot.

"I tried to talk to him earlier too, but he wouldn't answer me. He just kept walking and then when he got here he just stopped… Back at the Pokemon center he was already gone when I woke up. Pikachu helped me find him, but it's like he's in a trance or something. I'm surprised he even changed himself out of his pajamas…. Hey Ash, that thing Kasmira was talking about. About you transferring powers to Jacob, did it happen?"

Ash didn't answer her right away. He shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I don't really know."

"Well, do you feel any different?" Misty asked quickly.  
Ash opened his eyes and looked at her, "Not really… I mean… I feel kind of sick, but that's about it."

Misty looked away from Ash and back at the silent Jacob. "Do you think something went wrong? Maybe it did something to him?"

Suddenly, Jacob moved. He tilted his head to one side as if listening to something far away and then his blank stare moved away from the sky and toward the trees behind Misty and Ash.

"They're coming," Jacob suddenly whispered in an emotionless voice. Shocked, Misty and Ash both jumped and the turned nervously to look at the trees and then back at Jacob. Pikachu leapt up and landed on his trainer's shoulder. Then very slowly, but deliberately, Jacob reached out and grabbed Misty's hand. She let out a startled cry and turned to see Jacob reach out with his other hand and take hold of Ash's arm. He clenched her hand tightly, but still didn't look at her.

"Time to go," he whispered. There was a sudden bright flash of blue light and they fell into darkness.

* * *

Ash was aware of a distant sobbing sound. People were talking, but everything seemed so far away. He concentrated on the voices… there were two of them and they sounded very familiar…

_"I... I'm lost. I want to go home but... I can't find my way." _

_"What's your name sweetie?" _

_"Jacob, but everyone calls me Jake." _

_"I like that name…How old are you Jake?" _

_"I'm 4 and a half and this is my Eevee that my daddy gave to me."_

_That's a lie, _Ash thought, _He lied to us about that… Gary gave him the Eevee. I never gave him anything._ Suddenly, Ash felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and there was a bright light. He opened his eyes and sat up with a jerk. Feeling a sense of urgency he attempted to get to his feet, but found he was unable to stand on his shaking legs. With an ungraceful thud he landed face first on the ground.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu called when his trainer collapsed.

"I'm OK," Ash responded, rolling himself over onto his back. He blinked, looking up into a clear blue sky. He then very slowly sat himself up and looked around. He was in a small clearing. Not too far away, Misty was on the ground, her eyes shut as if she was sleeping peacefully. In the middle of the clearing, stood Jake. As far as Ash could tell he was staring blankly up at the sky.

"Jake?" Ash questioned, but Jacob made no movement. Misty, however, began to stir. She gradually opened her eyes and blinked in the sunlight. Then she looked very alarmed and sat up very quickly. She looked around fearfully but then saw that Ash and Jacob were both nearby.

"Are you OK, Misty?" Ash asked. Misty nodded and then looked around at the clearing.

"Ash… What happened?" She asked looking worried. "Where are we?"

"I… I don't really know." Ash said while he scanned the edge of the clearing. Suddenly, there was the sound of someone sighing and, startled, Misty and Ash both turned to Jake. He wasn't staring at the sky anymore and instead was looking at the ground. He sighed again and then muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Misty asked.

Jake turned and looked right into her eyes and said, "Listen Jacob, my friends and I are on our way to Pallet town right now, and we were wondering if you want to travel with us…" There was a long pause and Misty looked troubled. Jake sighed again, "You don't remember that?" He asked abruptly, "That's what you told me when we first met."

"Oh," Misty said, surprised and unsure of what to say.

"I bet you wish you hadn't said it… after you found out all the trouble that I am." Jake looked up at the sky again as if he was searching for something. Misty looked around at the little clearing and then it became clear to her.

"This… this is where we met… Isn't it Jake? This is where I first saw you."

Jacob nodded, still looking at the sky. Misty paused watching Jake closely, but he didn't move.

"I don't regret meeting you. In fact… I-I'm glad I got to meet you and get to know you," Misty said shakily. She looked away, feeling as though she would soon start to cry. She heard the sound of small footsteps and looked up to see Jacob standing directly in front of her. Tears were spilling from his eyes and tracking gently down his cheeks.

"I'm glad I got to meet you too, you know? I have wanted to meet you forever. After Samara told me that I was the one that killed you. I wanted to tell you that… I'm sorry…" Before he could say anymore Misty threw her arms around him and hugged him close. She was crying now as well. She had never felt sadness like this in her life. It was as if her tears would never stop.

"Don't be sorry," Misty said through her tears, "It wasn't your fault. I wanted you to live, to live and be happy… I'm just happy that I got to spend time with you now… I… I love you Jacob."

Jacob sank completely into her embrace. He held onto her tightly and cried for a long time. Ash, feeling intrusive, looked away at the sky and the trees. Pikachu nuzzled his chest and Ash absently stroked his back. After a while, Jacob and Misty parted and Jake, suddenly looking very happy, grabbed Misty's hand and pulled so she would stand on her feet.

"I want to show you something," he said excitedly and he pulled her over to the very center of the clearing. Ash, curious, stood up on his shaking legs and wobbled over to them. Jacob was waving one hand in the air, as if trying to grasp something. He seemed to find it, because he pulled Misty's hand to a spot in the air and then looked up at her expectantly.

"Jake… What are you doing?" She asked.

"You don't feel that?" Jacob asked, disappointed. "It's right there… It feels like the air is pushing back, feel it?"

Misty shook her head. Jacob sighed.

"It's a time rip. It's how I got here. You can't see it, but you should be able to feel it… Ash, come here and see if you can feel it," Jacob demanded. Ash sighed and moved closer. Feeling a bit silly, he put his hand out and waved it in the air. "Not _there_," Jake said exasperated. He grabbed Ash's hand and moved it to a certain spot, "Right _here_."

Ash was about to say that he didn't feel anything, but then he felt something brush against his fingers. It felt as if the air was pushing against his hand.

"Whoa, what is that?" Ash asked, amazed. Jacob looked very pleased.

"That's my way home," Jake said with a smile. Ash looked at Jacob curiously.

"How?" he asked simply.

"I can open it. Before I couldn't, but now I can. Kasmira talked to me about it." Jacob

said with a grin.

"So…you're leaving?" Ash asked, glancing at Misty and then back at Jacob.

Jacob looked down at the ground. "Yeah, I have to."

"Why?" Misty broke in suddenly. She knew that Jacob couldn't be with them forever, but she had hoped for a few more days with him. Jake crossed his arms and looked very thoughtful.

"Time is really messed up right now. It's not right for me to be in the past. I have to go back and I have to take the Nazuk with me…. Kasmira thinks they followed me through this rip…. I need to go back and then close it up."

"Can… you can do that?" Misty asked.

Jacob looked at her for a moment, as if trying to read her thoughts and then he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can."

"Well…will we ever see you again?" Ash asked trying to break the gloom of the

moment. He didn't want Jacob to leave yet. He had wanted to talk with him about everything that had happened.

"Yes… maybe… well I have to leave first," Jacob uncrossed his arms and looked back to the space in the air that had been designated the time rip. _He's lying,_ Ash thought to himself, _or he's not telling the whole truth_.

"What do you mean Jacob?" Misty asked.

"Now that you've met me, the future might change… but it can't change because if it was different… then you wouldn't have met me in the first place because I would never have come back… y'know?"

"No," Ash answered, completely truthful.

"So the future can't change?" Misty asked.

"Maybe… maybe not. Kasmira isn't too clear about that… she says time is complicated and we can't understand it. She says that she's gong to bend some rules for us. She's going to … set it back," Jacob furrowed his brow as if trying to remember what he was supposed to be saying.

"What?" Ash asked, feeling his grasp of the situation slipping form him.

"She says it's like a rubber band. It' s going to snap back as soon as I leave. Everyone will be put where they are supposed to be as if they had never met me. You'll be in Pallet town. You won't remember any of this. All you'll remember is traveling to Pallet and the adventures you had along the way. But you won't remember me."

"But I want the future to change!" Misty said desperately.

"Maybe it will. Maybe it's already started. If time snaps back and you don't remember me then maybe I was never here and maybe I never had to come back… because maybe things turned out better."

"What about the power from Ash? You had to come back to get that… right?" Misty motioned to Ash wildly and Ash thought that she was going to start crying again.

"Kasmira didn't take anything from Ash."

"_What?_" Ash and Misty exclaimed in unison.

"Kasmira said that she looked more closely at Ash and she realized that Ash _needs_ the power that he has…." Jacob turned and looked at Ash. "She says that you are going to do great things and you're going to need all the help you can get. I can't take any thing from you… the power that was in you…. You end up relying on it yourself too much. Kasmira said that if she took the power from you that I wouldn't be born because without that power there is no way that you would live to be that old."

Ash was silent at this. He felt as if a rock was sitting in his stomach and the urge to throw up became considerably stronger.

"Jacob… what about you? I thought you needed that power," Misty asked once she saw Ash had turned paler and wasn't going to say anything.

"Well, yeah… but I'm pretty strong by myself. I can get by," Jacob put his arms behind his head and grinned cockily. "I'm going to wait here for the Nazuk. The last time I saw them I think I killed a few of them, but I don't really remember. I just sort of… blew everything up. I'll do things better this time. When they come, I will draw them into the time rip."

Misty's mouth dropped open. "But…what if you can't get them into the time rip?"

Jacob paused for a moment. "Then I'll have to fight them, but if I use too much energy, I will have to wait to go back and the time line will just get more messed up."

"You'll fight them?" Misty squeaked out.

"I've done it before. Recently, when I lost Eevee and before I came here, when I was lost with Samara… I blew one of them up… My Dad killed a lot of them too. I think they blame me for that, I am the reason that Dad… killed so many of them."

Ash suddenly looked really uncomfortable and Misty, sensing the unease, tried to change the subject, "What can I do Jacob?"

"If it's alright… I wanted… I wanted you to wait with me… please." Jacob finished his sentence, his smile fading and uncertainty flashed into his eyes.

Misty watched him for a moment, trying to read him. "Of course," she said. Jacob smiled and looked up at the sky.

"Good. Now all we have to do is wait."

**Dark Descent**

The forest was absolutely still. The wind did not blow, the trees did not rustle and not a creature stirred. It was as if the whole world was pausing to take a breath. In the clearing Jacob lay on his back looking up at the clouds. Misty lay next to him, watching the clouds and contemplating their lives. Ash had been looking up at the clouds as well, but Misty suspected that he had fallen asleep. She had never known Ash to be this quiet and she attributed his behavior to emotional exhaustion. Pikachu remained loyally by Ash's side, curled up protectively at his shoulder.

"I don't think I could forget you," Misty said quietly, not wanting to disturb Ash. Jacob said nothing right away and Misty thought that perhaps he had fallen asleep as well.

"You might not right away," Jacob said in a voice that sounded thick and groggy. "I might be in your dreams for a while and when you wake up… you might remember me. But then it will all be gone. Soon, you won't remember me at all. Not even when you sleep." Jacob turned his head to look at her. His expression was blank as if nothing bothered him. Misty looked at him in disbelief.

"How can you say that… just like that? …" Misty asked. Jacob looked back at the sky and then shut his eyes. He sighed quietly.

"I'm so used to feeling sad…. Now I just feel… frozen up inside." Jacob paused for a moment before he opened his eyes again. "I'm so tired," he finished quietly. Misty studied Jacob for a moment. He looked a great deal older then when they had first met. It was then that Misty realized just how much he looked like Ash, but also, when she really looked at him, she thought she could see a little of herself as well. Some of his expressions were hers and sometimes she could see herself in the way he cocked his head to the side.

"I can't forget. A part of me somewhere will always remember. I just know it," Misty said slowly with certainty. Jacob sighed, took a deep breath and then was silent.

"…Maybe," he whispered in a barely audible voice.

* * *

Dusk had come upon the clearing and the silence that had been so peaceful earlier, now seemed threatening. The forest was too quiet; it was the terrible calm before the storm. Ash stood in the middle of the clearing his hand in front of him, grasping at the air. He could just barely feel the time rip. While they had all rested in the afternoon, Jacob had come up with something resembling a plan. Ash and Pikachu would help distract the Nazuk and while they did, Jacob would open the time rip. Once the time rip was open Pikachu would hit the Nazuk with an attack and hopefully they would be hit hard enough to push them through. Misty was going to help be a distraction, but without her Pokemon she felt as though she was not up to the job. However, she had decided to remain by Jacob's side no matter what.

Suddenly Ash was hit with a wave of nausea and a feeling of dread encompassed him.

"You feel that?" Jacob asked anxiously. "They're coming."

"Jacob?" Ash asked, moving his hand away from the time rip.

"Ash?" Jacob asked looking up at him with a strange calmness.

"I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry… I'm sorry that I messed everything up."

"You didn't mess anything up…. You were a good Dad… I missed you," Jacob smiled at Ash and Ash, feeling relieved, smiled back.

Suddenly there was a horrible cracking noise and it was followed by the fall of a tree just beyond the clearing. Then there was silence. Jacob stepped toward the rip as Ash stepped in front of him with Pikachu.

"Remember," Jacob whispered, "Ttry to distract them and hit them close to the time rip."

Ash nodded, "Right. Get ready Pikachu." Pikachu flashed sparks out of his cheeks in determination. Jacob reached up his hand carefully towards the time rip. Misty took a few steps to stand next to Jacob.

The loud crunching of a tree trunk abruptly broke the silence. The sound got louder and louder as trees came crashing down at the edge of the clearing. It was as if they were shattering, being blown apart and their pieces were violently tossed about. Jacob had stood perfectly still, until…

"Get DOWN!" Jake screamed. Ash threw himself to the ground without question. Jacob grabbed Misty's hand and pulled her so she would duck down too. The moment she did, a tree trunk went hurtling over their heads. Misty yelled as it landed behind them, destroying the trees on the other side of the clearing. Jacob was the first on his feet again. His hand flew up to the time rip and he held it steady in the air. Ash scrambled to his feet as well, though he appeared to have some trouble with it. Darkness had descended on the clearing and Ash found that he could not see anything beyond the destroyed tree line.

"Pika!" Pikachu sparked boldly, but nothing moved.

"You there!" Jacob suddenly shouted, startling both Ash and Misty. "You shadow creatures, have you really come all this way just to make some noise and throw sticks at us?!" Jacob was glaring resolutely into the darkness. Misty was on her knees and she looked nervously behind her at the log that had nearly killed them. She had never been so frightened in her life and Jacob was acting like nothing had happened. Misty looked at him and her eyes fell upon his hand at his side. He was making a tight fist, his knuckles were turning white and through the growing dark she could see that he was shaking. However, if he was afraid, he showed no other signs of it. Jacob looked to the side of the clearing and then spoke in a loud voice, "I am not here to play games. I am here to challenge you. Unless you are cowards, than reveal yourselves!"

There was silence, but the wind suddenly picked up and a cold chill went down Misty's back. The wind was freezing and it whistled in her ears. Misty then realized that the wind brought another sound. Laughter. Cold, raspy and harsh it sounded more like something was choking than laughing. Then at the edge of the clearing a dark figure emerged. It was large and pitch black with glowing yellow eyes. It lacked a neck, the shoulders just formed into the head. It's arms were long and dragged on the ground. Its hands were disfigured and its fingers ended in sharp points. Its long legs ended in misshapen, clawed feet and out of its chest sprouted three sets of smaller arms. A flash of white revealed that the creature was smiling with large pointed teeth. One moment later, two more creatures stepped out of the forest. These were much smaller and had yellow eyes as well.

"Is this it then?" Jacob questioned the creatures, "Is this all that is left of the Nazuk that followed me back here? Funny, I didn't realize that I killed so many of you the last time we met." The monsters stared at Jacob, the laughter completely stopped and their smiles turned into harsher glares. Ash moved to the side, he needed to move them closer to the time rip and he had a feeling it wouldn't be too hard if they attacked Jacob. He was supposed to be a distraction, so he figured if he could just get around…

One of the smaller creatures suddenly began to move toward Ash, while the other two stayed in place. _This doesn't look good_, Ash thought. Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder as Ash began to move quickly out of the way. The thing grew closer as it reached out its long arm and took a swipe at Ash. Ash ducked and rolled out of the way. Pikachu sparked at the creature's arm, causing it to stop its forward motion. The second smaller creature had now taken an interest in Ash and Pikachu and was beginning to move to join his friend. The larger creature stood in one place, wavering back and forth, just staring at Jacob. Ash wasn't distracting all the creatures and he wasn't moving them toward the rip.

"Pikachu! Thundershock!"

With a bright flash the monsters were halted briefly in their tracks. In annoyance, the larger monster had turned to look at his fighting comrades. It hissed loudly at the other two. This was it! They were being distracted! Ash moved so that he was standing opposite of the time rip and Jacob. If Pikachu could hit them hard enough, Jacob could open the time rip and pull them in. As if sensing something, the larger creature looked up at Ash and then began turning towards Jacob.

"Pikachu! Thunder!" Ash yelled. There was a loud crackling noise and for a moment everything lit up. The monsters were hit head on and Jacob with a look of great determination, yelled as he grasped the air and pulled roughly. Through the tremendous thunder there was the sound of ripping. It literally sounded as if something was being torn apart. As he looked past the Nazuk being thrown back and through the flurry of twisted arms as they attempted to swipe at him and Pikachu, Ash saw the fabric of time. It was a blurry darkness showing in-between two pieces of the air, which was growing bigger as Jacob held a fragment of it. The Nazuk clawed their feet into the ground, intent on not being pushed back. Pikachu's attack finished and the Nazuk stood only a few feet away from the tear. Fear suddenly gripped the smaller two creatures and they began to scramble. But as they began to claw at the ground to get away, Jacob raised one arm in the air and shouted to Misty, "Hold on to me!"

Ash suddenly felt a strong breeze blowing past him. The strong breeze quickly turned into a harsh wind and Ash grabbed Pikachu before he could be blown into the time rip. The Nazuk screamed. It was a loud, terrible, metallic sound that hurt Ash's ears. With one hand Ash tried to grab onto something that would stop him from being pulled into the torn space. The two smaller Nazuk were suddenly gone, the rip claiming them both.

However, the larger Nazuk had dug all of his claws into the ground and was no longer moving toward the time rip. The wind increased and, despite his best efforts, Ash was sliding towards the Nazuk. "Pikachu, use thundershock!" Pikachu hesitated, looking up at his trainer. "I'll be fine! Don't worry!" Ash said. Pikachu nodded and unleashed an electrical attack, trying to concentrate most of his power on the monster and not Ash. The Nazuk was only a few feet away from the time rip, but Ash was momentarily stunned and could not stop himself from sliding closer to the Nazuk. Pikachu slipped from his arm and began tumbling towards the monster. The Nazuk lifted up one disfigured arm and brought it down towards the small yellow Pokemon. Ignoring his own pain, Ash flung himself towards Pikachu and put himself between his best friend and the creature's pointed fingers.

As his claws were only inches from Ash's head, the wind greatly increased. The monster, no longer holding on with all of its limbs, was caught off guard and with a horrible scream he was gone. Ash was then pulled off the ground and he tumbled head over heels towards the opening. He flailed wildly trying to stop himself, but there wasn't anything to grab on to, he was already in the air, he was being pulled into the darkness, everything was fading away. Ash heard a voice from far away, "Misty, grab him!"

Then everything was silent.

* * *

Ash's mind was blank. Everything was dark and cold. He was lost, lost in nothingness. Then through the dark he felt a warm hand touch his forehead. The warmth from the hand spread through his body, all the way to his toes. Then a soothing voice that was deep and familiar sounded.

"You're not done yet."

* * *

For as long as Misty held on to Jacob she was not bothered by the power he was using to pull the Nazuk into the time rip. As she stood next to him, she could not feel even the slightest breeze, but less than a foot in front of her it seemed as though a windstorm was taking place. As the Nazuk were forced back into the time rip. Misty watched in horror as Ash began to tumble in after them. Jacob yelled, "Misty, grab him!" Coming to her senses she grabbed Ash's legs, but he was already half consumed by the darkness. The wind stopped and Jacob gripped the air with both hands. "Misty! Pull him!"

Misty pulled as hard as she could, but Ash didn't budge. "Please, Ash." She pleaded as she struggled. Very slowly Ash began to emerge from the darkness. His arms appeared with Pikachu in them and then his shoulders and then finally with one large heave Ash was pulled from the rip and he landed with a loud thud on the ground. He was very pale and Misty thought that he was lying too still to be alive. Pikachu remained perfectly motionless in his trainer's arms. "A-Ash?" She questioned putting a hand gently on his shoulder. Jacob looked down at Ash and then very carefully let go of his grasp on the time rip. The darkness disappeared, though there was still a strange energy that lingered in the air. "Ash, Please," Misty said as she began to shake his shoulder. Suddenly Pikachu opened his eyes and looked up at Misty. "Pikachupi!" he cried when he saw her, then when he noticed that his trainer was not moving he gripped onto his shirt and nuzzled him, murmuring "Pikapi." Ash winced and then slowly opened his eyes. "What…what happened?" Ash asked as he looked at Pikachu and then to Misty.

"You almost got stuck in the time rip. Don't worry you're fine," Jacob said nonchalantly.

"I… what?"

"Don't you dare do that to me ever again Ash Ketchum!" Misty now had him by the shoulders and was shaking him roughly.

"All right! OK! Ack! Misty stop!"

Jacob laughed. It was a true laugh, which was something that they hadn't heard from him for a while. Misty looked at him and she couldn't help but smile. Just then, a light abruptly shown on Jacob's face and Misty realized that the space in the air was opening up again, but this time it was glowing with a bright blue radiance. It slowly opened until it was just wide enough for a young child to slip through. Then, as he smiled at Misty, Jacob began to glow as he was gently pulled towards the opening.

"Jake! Wait Jacob!" Misty dropped Ash and jumped over him so that she could get a hold of Jacob. "You can't leave yet! Just wait a minute." Misty begged. Jacob carefully pushed her away from him.

"I have to go," he said quietly.

"But what's going to happen to you? Who's going to take care of you in the future?" Misty said tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm going to be fine. Everything is going to be all right. Please don't worry about me."

Ash was sitting up now and he quickly got to his feet. He had remembered something and he needed to let Jacob know.

"Jacob!" Ash shouted. Jacob turned from Misty and looked at Ash just as the portal was beginning to envelope him. "When I was in the time rip, I heard someone's voice! It sounded like your Dad's voice… Well- I guess… my voice! I- I don't know what that means, but-"

"It means you are always with me! That you should know that the ones you love never really leave you." The blue light had almost completely surrounded him now.

"Jacob! I want the future to change!" Misty called desperately.

"Maybe it will! Maybe it's meant to!" Jacob shouted back as his voice began to sound farther away.

"Jacob! I'll miss you!" Misty called and she began to cry.

"I'll miss you too. Mommy, I love you!"

"I love you too, Jacob."

"Pipikachu, Pikachu!" Pikachu called. Jacob laughed softly. "Bye Pikachu!"

In the bright light Ash could see that Jacob was looking at him.

"Daddy, be strong! I love you!"

"Jacob, I-I love you too! Goodbye Jacob! Be strong! Good luck!"

With those last words, the rip closed and the last thing that Ash saw of Jacob was the smile on his face and the tears dripping down his cheeks.

The clearing became silent and Misty tried to stop crying, but she couldn't. She wiped at her tears, but found that there were always more. Without thinking she reached out and grabbed Ash's hand. Without hesitation Ash grasped Misty's hand in his. As he watched the time rip seal up, he felt his own tears falling down his face and he clenched Misty's hand as if it was the only thing in the world that mattered.

Ash suddenly heard a voice abruptly cut through his sadness. It was soft and gentle, but extremely powerful. "It is time to put you back, children. Time to put you back where you should have been."

Before Ash could even question what was happening, everything began to fade away. Jacob's words then came fluttering to the front of his mind, "… you won't remember me at all. Not even when you sleep." He was frightened and confused, but then he felt a calm come over him and it was as if had never been troubled in his life. He was just having a weird dream and soon he would wake up and everything would be back to normal. He felt complete darkness descend upon him and he was completely at peace.

The End…..

….. almost. Only the epilogue is left. We are so close to finishing.


	35. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Misty awoke in the middle of the night with a start. She quickly sat up as if expecting someone to be standing above her. However, there was no one there. They had decided to set up camp in the forest that night because they were tired and they had gotten lost and couldn't find the Pokemon Center.

The night was quiet and nothing seemed out of place. For some reason she had been having a hard time sleeping. She kept dreaming, but the moment she woke up she couldn't remember what her dreams were about. All she knew was that after she awoke she always felt very sad. She glanced at their fire that was almost completely out. They had been traveling in Johto for a few days now, but besides the few new types of Pokemon they had encountered and a few run-ins with Team Rocket, their journey had been pretty uneventful. Brock was with them now and everything seemed to run smoother when he traveled with her and Ash. She glanced over at Brock to find him sleeping peacefully in his sleeping bag. Her gaze wandered over to Ash's sleeping bag and she jumped when she realized Ash wasn't in it. She could see Pikachu's tale sticking out from the depths of it, but Ash was no longer in sight. She felt very uneasy with Ash gone and the remnants of the dream still clinging to her mind. She very carefully crawled out of her sleeping bag, trying not to wake up Togepi and walked into the darkness.

_Where is he?_ Misty thought. _He couldn't have gone far_. Just then Misty stepped on something and as she fell over she heard a yell that wasn't hers. "Ahhh! Misty?! What are you doing?"

Misty, realizing she had stepped on Ash, quickly picked herself up from the ground and hissed at him to be quiet. "What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing? Why are you sitting in the dark out here by yourself?" Ash didn't answer right away. As far as Misty could tell he had been doodling in the dirt with his finger.

"I couldn't sleep, I think I had a bad dream or something. I don't really remember," Ash said with a shrug.

"Really?" Misty asked as she sat herself beside him. "Me too. What was yours about?"

"I just said I don't remember."

"You don't remember anything at all?"

"No, do you?" He asked looking her in the eye.

"No, but I do feel really sad about it… I guess that sounds weird." She began drawing in the dirt as well. Ash joined her in the doodling. "Hey," he said quietly, "maybe we were having the same dream."

Misty laughed, "Maybe we were."

The two of them sat, content in each other's presence.

"What is that supposed to be?" Ash asked when he saw Misty's dirt drawing.

"It's Togepi. What? Doesn't it look like Togepi?"

"Um… not really," Ash laughed.

"OK, well what did you draw?"

"Pikachu."

"That figures."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, Ash. What did you write here?" Misty squinted in the very dim light at something Ash had written in the dirt. "Does that say… Number one Pokemon Master?"

"Um… no," Ash quickly brushed the dirt smooth with his hand. Misty laughed.

"What does that one say?" She asked about one that was written a bit farther away.

"I don't know. I didn't really pay attention to everything I was doing," Ash mumbled. Misty leaned over and squinted hard in the dark.

"J-Jacob? Who's Jacob?" Misty asked, looking at Ash quizzically. Ash shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe it was something from my dream."

They paused briefly looking at the word on the ground.

"I'm tired," Ash said with a yawn. He stood up, "I'm gong back to bed." Ash turned and wandered back to bed. Misty continued to look at the name on the ground. "Jacob," she said quietly. "Why is that so… familiar?"

"Misty, are you going to just sit out in the dark?" Ash called from his sleeping bag. Misty turned to him, annoyed. "You're going to wake everyone up!"

"A-Ah mmph, what's going on?"

"Sorry, Brock!" Ash and Misty called in unison. Togepi then woke up and began crying. "Oh no!" Misty cried, running over and picking up her Togepi, "Ash look what you did!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Stop it you two!"

"Sorry, Brock," Misty and Ash apologized.

Misty cuddled her Togepi, trying to calm him down. Unfortunately, Togepi wasn't easily calmed. Togepi was still a baby after all and Misty didn't really mind the crying. _When I have a real baby_, Misty found herself thinking, _I think I will name him Jacob_. Misty then stopped realizing what she had just thought and she laughed to herself. _I must be tired,_ she mused. She smiled again to herself and whispered so only Togepi could hear,

"It _would_ be a good name. Jacob. Jacob… Ketchum."

The End.

PS ROCK ON EVERYONE! I was unsure if I wanted to add anything to that. It's been such a LONG trip. I think I like the ending though. I wanted Jacob's name to be the last words of the story so I left it there. I really enjoyed myself. I feel a deep sadness, knowing it is over, but I am also extremely relieved. If anyone has any questions about the story you can actually send me a message. Or leave me a review with a way to contact you and I will. Just in case my insane story confused you. Thanks everyone!

Dedicated to My brother Brandon and MEWBERRIES! The most awesome reviewer ever! Mewberries (hopefully, you read this last part) thank you for taking this seven-year journey with me. I am extremely grateful to you and all your reviews. No one else besides my brother stuck with me this long. You are one of the reasons I was able to finish. I hope you enjoyed it, I sure did. Now, don't ever let me write anything this long again.

Best Wishes,

-BanditPonyta


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